Saving Moonlight
by Bella Mattina
Summary: Anna and Gale have married and started a family together. Luna is their special and gifted daughter who, like her parents, knows magic. She is chosen by the Harvest King to be the helper and protector of Waffle Island. However, Luna is in much more trouble than she ever realized as the protector. The final story of the "Star Light, Star Bright" trilogy with co-writer ScipioPB
1. Full Moon

**Chapter 1: Full Moon**

Gale clenched the sides of his head with closed fists as he sat impatiently outside of the hospital room. He heard screams and Dr. Jin calmly instructing Anna. Gale could only imagine Anissa patting Anna's head with a cool, damp cloth. He wanted the screams to stop. He wanted Anna to be alright. He shut his eyes and tried to remember happier times.

* * *

After Anna had returned, the next week, Gale and Anna were wed under the bright and beautiful moonlight. Their wedding night had been wonderful and their life following that night had been absolutely perfect. Together they watched the town change before them for the better. The fires burned brightly, the waters produced an abundance of fish, the fields harvested beautiful shining crops, the wind blew a friendly breeze, and the hearts of all were united in love. Gale loved his wife, his friend, and his Anna deeply and on the day that he found out that they were expecting, he was overjoyed!

Anna grew plump and her belly swelled, and Gale found her more attractive than the first day that he met her. Anna reminded Gale of how Isabelle looked when she was pregnant with her. He smiled at the memory of the deceased mother and at the soon to be mother. Gale rubbed Anna's stomach frequently and sung the sweet lullaby that Isabelle taught them. He could not wait until the baby was big enough where the gender could be determined. However, that day never came.

"Gale," Anna placed her hand on his. She was seated with her legs propped under her body on the green sofa. Her other hand softly rubbed her belly. "Stop worrying about the baby. It is fine."

"But Anna," Gale groaned, "I could see you… I don't understand… why I can't see the baby now…"

Anna removed her hand from his hand and touched his bronzed cheek. "Gale, please don't be worried." She kissed her husband lips to reassure him that she was not worried and then she leaned back into her spot with a sigh. "Why…" Anna laughed breathlessly, "Is it so hard to move?"

Gale grabbed another "How To" book for taking care of a child and shoved his nose deep into the book.

"Darling," Anna smirked and propped her arms up on the couch, "Please stop reading those books."

"I have to know what I am dealing with, Anna." Gale continued to read.

Anna sighed and used magic to remove the book from his grasp, "It's not the matter of what you are dealing with," She shifted her position to cuddle close to him, "But who you are dealing with."

He wrapped his arms around her loosely and with one of his hands he ran it through her glossy auburn hair. Gale chuckled, "I guess whomever comes out of you will be a handful."

Anna glared at him and stuck her tongue out at him. He quickly took her tongue with his lips and stole a precious kiss.

* * *

_Gale… _Anna moaned.

Gale shot his head up and jumped out of his seat in the waiting room. He raced towards the room where his love was in and reached for the door.

"Ah!" Dr. Jin startled, "I was just about fetch you."

"How is she?" Gale ignored the small talk.

"She is fine," the doctor patted Gale's shoulder, "Congratulations, you're a father now."

Gale's heart raced with excitement and moved around the doctor to see Anna. She was soaked in sweat and there was a small, adorable sleeping baby in her arms. Gale immediately joined her side and was in awe at the little child.

"See what we can create without magic?" Anna softly laughed.

"It's beautiful." Gale gently rubbed the baby's fluff of light brown hair, "What gender is it?"

"Her name is Luna." Anna leaned her head against Gale's chest and Gale adjusted himself next to Anna on the delivery bed.

"Luna…" Gale repeated his daughter's name with a smile, "When will we be able to take her home with us?"

"As long as everything goes well tonight," Anna said tiredly, "Then tomorrow." She yawned.

Gale kissed Anna's head and Luna's as well, "You two better get your rest now." He started to move, but was stopped by Anna's voice.

"Stay with us, Gale." Anna begged, "Please, don't leave now."

Gale returned his position on the bed and allowed Anna to fall asleep.

* * *

_Eight stars fell all in a row and created a circle in the ground where Gale stood and above him was a bright and beautiful moon. He was in a field in an unfamiliar land, which led him to create a defensive barrier, as a precautionary measure, but he did not sense any evil in these fallen stars. The eight bright stars faded and turned into eight tiny sprites._

"_Hello!" The yellow female one spoke first._

"_Who are you?" Gale asked silently. He knew after having several premonitions in the past that he necessarily did not have to speak in order for his visions to hear him._

"_The eight Harvest Sprites of Waffle Island!" Another sprite in green spoke up happily._

"_Shut it you nincompoop!" A red Harvest Sprite bonked the green one's head._

"_What do you want with me?" Gale asked all of them a bit on edge._

"_Find her, save him." The small purple one spoke._

_Gale froze. He had not heard that phrase in a very long time, so long that he eventually forgot about it. "What about it?" He hesitated._

"_That was the message that we had to give to you." The green one spoke again, but more hesitant than before._

The blue one followed, "We were told that you would know what this meant."

"I thought I did…" He sighed and then shook his head, "Who told you that?"

"_Our Harvest Goddess," the orange one answered, "and that's all we know."_

"_Wonderful…" Gale groaned and looked up towards the night sky. He saw the bright full moon shining brilliantly against the dark, misty sky._

* * *

Gale opened his eyes to see the moon shining in through the cracks of the hospital blinds and they illuminated Luna's baby face. When Gale gazed his eyes on her, he saw her beautiful two-toned eyes. Her left eye was emerald, like Gale's, and her right eye was chocolate, like Anna's. Then it hit him…

_It's her…_


	2. Birthday Jitters

**Chapter 2: Birthday Jitters**

"Papa! Mama!" Luna jumped on her parent's bed early one spring morning. Anna rubbed her eyes and Gale yawned loudly and stretched. This was part of their daily routine, Luna woke up earlier than her parents and even with possibly only four hours of sleep, she was the most active out of all of them.

"It's time to get up!" Luna bounced down to her knees and shook her mother's legs, "Mama! Can I water today? Can I? Can I?!" Luna begged her mother, "Please….." She gave a cute little pout and laced her fingers around each other.

"Of course, Luna." Anna giggled and wrapped her arms around her daughter and gave a tight squeeze.

"Yay!" Luna wiggled out of her mother's grasp and stumbled out of the bed. She fell on the floor with a loud _THUMP! _and immediately shot up with, "I'm okay!" before she raced out of her parent's room.

Gale got out of bed and rubbed the back of his head tiredly with a yawn, "Do you think she even realizes that it's her birthday today?" The sun shone bright through the window and shimmered against his bronzed skin. Anna hoped that Luna would inherit Gale's skin tone and not her own milky white skin.

She smiled and crawled over to where he was standing. Anna rose to her knees and wrapped her arms around his neck. She pecked a kiss on her husband's lips and giggled, "I have no idea."

Gale wrapped his arms around his wife's waist and pulled her off of the bed. He carried her out into their living space. It was an open floor plan with the dining table in the center of the house. Their living room was closest to their personal room and the kitchen was close to Luna's room on the other side of the house. There were two bathrooms, one for Luna and the other for the couple. The colors in their home were neutral and asters were placed on every window sill. The house was small, but it suited their everyday needs.

"I'm ready, Mama!" Luna walked out of her bedroom with her overly large yellow rainboots. She wore a short fluffy red tutu-like skirt with white polka dots and a blue and pink sparkly fairy shirt.

"Sweetie," Anna laughed, "You can't wear that!"

"But I wanna!" Luna crosses her arms and attempted to tap her little rainboot, "It's my birthday and I can do whatever I want!"

"But only good little girls get presents." Gale corrected his daughter, "Now, if you want presents today, you must listen to your mother."

"Okay…" Luna stomped back into her room, but before she entered it, she asked with a gleam of hope, "Can I still wear my rain boots?!"

"Yes sweetheart." Anna was lowered to the ground by Gale. Anna walked into the kitchen and started to prepare breakfast.

Gale followed his daughter in her room and knocked before entering, "May I come in, Luna?"

"Yup!" Luna nodded and threw her clothes around her room.

"Luna, I want to teach you something." Gale started and Luna was not paying attention, "Do you want to learn something new today?"

Luna stopped tossing her clothes around and found a comfortable spot on her bed to sit on. She nodded and clicked her rain boots together in excitement. Gale smiled and his daughter and he cleaned her room with a swipe of his hand. Luna was not surprised by this because she knew that her parents used magic, but she did not know how to use any herself.

Gale sat next to his now five year old daughter and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Her long, light brown hair was dipped with one silver streak and it was soft to the touch. Luna leaned against her father and her boots swayed back and forth in the air. Gale continued to speak, "Long ago there were five magical elements," Gale held up his left hand out in front of her. His crystal wedding ring sparkled in the sunlight. "These elements were the same as the bells in this land," He asked his daughter, "Do you remember those elements, Luna?"

"Fire, Wind, Water, Earth…" She paused and thought hard about the last element and then looked up at her father with a shrug, "I forget…"

"Fire.." A flame lit up on the tip of his thumb, "Wind…" A miniature tornado formed on his pointer finger, "Water…" A geyser spouted out of his middle finger, "Earth…" A flower formed from his ring finger, "And heart." A pure white light glistened from his pinkie.

Luna was in a childlike wonder as she stared with her wide eyes at her father's fingers. She was trembling as her fingers grazed against the back of Gale's hand. He chuckled and continued, "These elements are present in every realm. In this world, these elements give strength to the land and it's nature."

"Gale!" A bright yellow orange clothed Harvest Sprite with wild green hair flew through the window and ran into the side of Gale's head.

After impact, Gale rubbed the spot of impact and winced, "I was just talking about you Finn…"

"Oh!" Finn smiled childishly and sat on his shoulder, "Oh! Hi Luna!" He waved happily at the girl, "Happy Birthday!"

"Thank you, Finn!" Luna grabbed Finn from her father's shoulder and gave Finn a tight squeezed hug.

"As I was saying…" Gale shook his head and resumed, "The Harvest Goddess in this land asks the Harvest Sprites to ring the five bells…"

"We're like guardians of the bells!" Finn boasted and folded his hands around his chest proudly.

Gale glared at Finn and continued, "When she asks them to ring the bells, they play a harmonious tune and bring the strength to the land."

"What about your world daddy?" Luna was amazed by his story, "The one where Grandpa Charles lives?!"

He laughed, "Where your mother and I are originally from… the elements are represented through head wizards and witches."

"Is that why Grandpa Charles hardly comes to visit?" Luna asked and clicked her heels together.

"Not only that," Gale stroked the back of her head, "But he is also the master of that school."

"Breakfast is ready!" Anna walked into the room and saw Finn, "Oh, hello Finn! It's good to see you!"

"Can I join for breakfast!?" Finn's eyes lit up at the smell of delicious food.

"Of course Finn," Anna nodded and asked Luna to go wash up. She was left in the room with her husband who seemed slightly agitated, "What's wrong?"

Gale squinted his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Nothing… I… just got a sudden headache…"

Anna sat beside him and wrapped her arms around his waist, "I can feel it too, Gale."

"Feel what…?" Gale looked at his wife alarmed.

She smiled, kissed his cheek, and winked at him before heading back out into the kitchen. Gale smirked and shook his head and followed his wife out of their Luna's room.


	3. Unwritten

**Chapter 3: Unwritten**

After breakfast, Luna and Finn raced to the bridge and Anna and Gale followed close behind.

"Why does she want to see us? Especially with Luna?" Gale thought aloud.

"All that was said to Finn was that Sephia wanted to talk to us." Anna relayed Finn's message to him, "Your guess is as good as mine on why Luna is needed."

"Any speculations?" Gale's brow furrowed.

"I'm afraid not my love." Anna sighed and ran ahead to Luna and Finn. The three of them were laughing and carrying on at the bridge. Gale stayed further back and pondered on the issue at hand.

"Mama," Luna tugged on her mother's pant leg, "Why are we seeing Miss Goddess?"

Anna picked up Luna and propped her on her hip, "It's a surprise sweetie."

_A surprise for all of us._ Gale glumly entered Anna's mind.

"Will I like the surprise?" Luna asked cutely.

"Of course sweetie." Anna kissed Luna's forehead. _Please stay positive for our daughter Gale. It's her birthday._

"I have a bad feeling about this." Gale whispered into Anna's ear and kissed her cheek.

"Eww..." Luna scrunched her face together at the sight of her parent's affection.

Gale laughed and kissed Luna's head before messing up her hair, "What are we waiting for? We have a goddess to see."

The family crossed the bridge and headed towards the entrance of the Goddess Springs through the Garmon Mines district. Finn talked Luna's head off about Collin's dumb jokes which made Luna shrieked with laughter. Anna kept a wary eye on Gale as he distanced himself from them.

_Gale, please, tell me what's wrong._

_Nothing is..._

_Gale, we've had five beautiful years with Luna. Why are you still upset that you could not see her before she was born?_

_That's not it Anna…_

_Then what is it?! _Anna grew frustrated at him.

Gale peered his gaze up at Anna, _I don't want to lose her._

"Finn," Anna lowered Luna at the entrance of the Springs, "Please take Luna to the Goddess."

"What's wrong, Mama?" Luna whined.

"Nothing sweetie." Anna kissed Luna's head once again, "Your father and I have to talk about grown-up stuff."

"Papa?" Luna looked towards her father for reassurance.

"It's alright Luna." Gale smiled, "Go ahead with Finn... we'll be right behind you."

Luna nodded and rushed over to Gale. She gave his leg a tight squeeze before she chased after Finn.

Once Luna was out of sight, Anna crossed her arms and started, "What are you not telling me Gale?"

"I don't want to lose her." Gale repeated himself.

"What makes you think that we are going to lose her?" Anna asked, "Gale, what's going on?"

Gale bit his lip and let out a sigh, "Anna..." He thought On where to start, "Do you remember... about that prophesy?"

"The one that related to me?" Anna replied, "Yes, I remember it, but what does that have to do with any of this?"

"When Luna was born..." Gale hesitated, "I saw that prophesy again... and there were strange sprites around me..."

"And you think that that premonition has something to do with Luna?" Anna pieced the puzzle together. When Gale nodded yes, Anna continued, "Gale," She shook her head in disbelief, "We're not going to lose her."

"What makes you so sure?" He doubted her.

"Because," Anna took his hand in her own and held it tightly, "I won't let us lose her." She kissed his lips and pulled him towards the Springs, "Now, let's go see what Sephia needs."

The two entered the Goddess Springs to find not only the angelic Harvest Goddess, but the fearsome Harvest King.

"Ignis…" Anna gasped softly and Gale held her hand tightly.

_What is he doing here? _Gale growled.

Neither god were vengeful and they had no reason to be feared, but when the Harvest King, Ignis, appeared that typically meant that whatever they would discuss, would be serious.

"Oh!" The Harvest Goddess, Sephia, noticed the two magical humans enter, "Gale! Anna! Thank you for coming!"

"Why are we here?" Gale immediately started agitated.

Anna squeezed Gale's arm tightly in disapproval and smiled at the goddess like there was nothing wrong, "Hello Sephia."

"I see that your daughter is well…" Ignis kept a close eye on her as she played with the Harvest Sprites. Edge was crying because Ben got his garments all soaked and Luna was trying to comfort Edge.

"Why did you want to see us?" Gale asked again.

Sephia sighed, "We have a favor to ask of the both of you…"

"This task can only be done with one of the purest heart." Ignis added.

"Yes…?" Anna urged them to continue. The couple were both nervous about the news.

Luna noticed the distress in both of the gods and her parents so she left her playmates to stand by her mother's side. She asked innocently, "What's wrong Mama?" Luna tugged on her mother's pant leg, "Is there anything that I can do to help?"

"Not now sweetie," Anna rubbed Luna's head, "Give us a minute."

"No…" Ignis stopped Luna. The little girl hid behind her mother because he intimidated her. Ignis continued, "She could be the answer…"

"But she's just a child, brother…" Sephia hesitated.

"Listen well…" Ignis started, "There is small island in another world and the power of that world is weak." He frowned as he continued, "There is trouble with the goddess and the only one that can restore her to her true form is one with a pure heart."

"No." Gale blurted out.

"Gale!" Anna jumped at his quick answer.

"She has to be the one." The Harvest King narrowed his eyes at Gale and then faced Anna, "May I give the task to this child?"

Anna looked into her daughter's eyes and saw the goodness in the child's heart. She knew that Luna could complete the task, but the bigger question was would Gale approve of her decision?

"Let Luna do it." Anna firmly said, "I know she can do it."

"What!?" Gale snapped, "No! I do not approve of this!"

"Gale…" Anna glanced over to him, "Luna will be fine."

He could not argue with Anna, so he turned his anger towards the gods. Gale grumbled, "When… will she leave?"

"When she is ready…" Ignis looked down at her.

Sephia knelt down to Luna and placed her hand on Luna's cheek, "Would you mind helping us, child?"

"I'd…" Luna nervously stepped away from her hiding spot, "I'd… like to help Miss Goddess."

"Then, it's settled." Ignis nodded.

"Anna," Gale pulled his wife aside, "Can I talk.. to you about this?"

Anna aside, "Gale, they want her to go. That's wonderful!"

"Anna…" Gale frowned, "The prophesy…"

"Gale," She rolled her eyes, "Luna will be fine! This should be a happy occasion!" Anna held his hands, "Please be happy."

"Happy?" Gale shocked, "They are stripping us away... from our daughter! How can we be happy?"

"Papa…" Luna snuck up behind him and tugged on his white trousers, "Please don't be sad. I want to go and help them."

Gale looked down at his daughter and sighed, "Alright…" He knelt down and kissed her head, "You can go, my dearest moon, and I will make sure that I see you off with a smile."

"Yay!" Luna jumped and hugged around her father's neck, "Thank you Papa!"

"She will return here after her task has been completed." Sephia smiled at the little one's energy.

"Yay! Now let's go home and open some presents!" Finn jumped up on Luna's shoulder which caused Luna to laughed and run off towards home.

"Luna!" Anna yelled and chased after her daughter.

Gale stayed behind as his wife and daughter left the Goddess Springs. Distress was carved deep into his wrinkles and confusion was written on his brow.

"What is it Gale?" The Harvest King spoke with a frown.

"I just… don't understand why I couldn't see her…" Gale sighed and leaned against the Goddess tree. "And then… the prophesy…"

"Your daughter?" The King's brow rose with question.

"My dear friend," The Goddess gently placed her hands on his shoulder and spoke sweetly, "You could not see your daughter because her future is unwritten."

"What do you mean "unwritten"?" He questioned the Goddess, "That's… not possible…"

"I'm afraid it is Gale," her voice filled with regret, "I am sorry for…" she sought for the appropriate word, "the inconvenience…" She shrugged and continued on, "But we cannot see her future."

"What about that prophesy? How does that relate to Luna?" Gale's voice cracked in fear.

"The world that we are sending her to is unlike our own." Ignis explained, "When you first saw that premonition, you tapped into unseen powers and worlds. When magic is first tapped into, magic is at its purest stage." He crossed his arms, "The older one gets, the less pure that magic becomes."

"That premonition was not a mistake…" Gale defended himself, "I saw what I saw, and the only outcome was death."

"What you saw Gale was your wife, Anna." The Harvest King raised his voice, "Just because you saw her does not mean that that premonition was for her."

Gale closed his eyes and grew in fear. He sighed, "I know what I saw…" He shook his head and reopened his eyes, "How am I to know that my daughter will be... safe... on this "journey"?"

The Harvest Gods looked at each other nervously before the Goddess answered, "We do not know whether she will be safe or not, Gale." She reassured him, "But we will watch over her and if she is in need of assistance, we will send someone to help her immediately."

"Who?" Gale's brows furrowed together. He was liking the idea of this journey less and less.

"Anyone of your choosing." The Harvest King answered.

Gale thought hard about this and weighed his options before answering, "Fine… she will go…" Gale left his spot at the tree and followed the same path as Anna and Luna. Before he left, he said one last thing, "Luna _will_ go on your journey to Waffle Island… and then she _will_ return to Castanet… safe and unharmed." He teleported himself home.


	4. Parental Support

Chapter 4: Parental Support

Thirteen years have past since the announcement of Luna's journey. Luna finished schooling at her grandfather's magic school with Gale, her father, as her mentor. Luna's short brown hair grew long to where her favorite hairstyle is braids. Her light silver streak never faded as she grew older and now it mixes with her other locks. Her dichromatic brown and green eyes are strong and her symbol of power proudly displays brightly on her arm. Her aura is a fiery red which represents her very stubborn and independent personality. The symbol itself is a burgundy crescent with an arrow through the middle of it. Luna enjoys helping her mother on her ranch and when she's not busy, she'll swing by her father's old house and find an interesting magical book to read. Tonight is her last night at home before she embarks on her journey to Waffle Island.

"I got it!" Luna called out to her mother as she ran to the door. She unlatched the lock and opened it to find her father hidden behind large packages. "Dad?" Luna raised her brow, "Why didn't you just teleport inside of the house?"

"Because," Gale huffed and walked past her to drop the boxes inside of the house, "I thought told you..."

"Yeah, yeah," She interrupted him and waved him off, "Don't use unnecessary magic."

"Then why did you ask?" He glared at his daughter and dropped a book on her head.

"Ow!" Luna grabbed her head and rubbed it, "What was that for?!"

"Your rudeness." Gale scowled and walked off to find Anna.

"Geez..." Luna grabbed a box off of the ground, "You'd think he'd lighten up a bit."

"Is your father home?" Anna opened the front door.

"Mom!" Luna jumped, "I thought you were in the other room!"

Anna giggled and placed her finger to her lips. Luna rolled her eyes and unboxed the groceries that her father brought home.

"I tell our daughter to do one thing, yet you do the other." Gale caught Anna.

"Oh, come on dear..." She rolled her eyes, "How is Luna supposed to remember anything that she has learned if she can't use it in her everyday life?"

Gale glared at Anna and said nothing. He walked into their bedroom silently and gently shut the door behind him.

"Woah..." Luna felt the tension, "What's wrong with dad?"

Anna sighed and placed her hands on her temples, "Sometimes your father needs to get his head out of the past."

"What do you mean?" Luna pried.

"I'll let your father tell you when you return." She laughed and lifted a box off of the ground, "We better start supper soon or he'll be in an even worse mood."

"How come you and dad never talk about your pasts?" Luna noticed, "I mean I only know bits and pieces from what Grandfather Charles told me."

"Well..." Anna rubbed her head nervously, "I don't want to tell too much without talking about it to your father first."

"Just tell me a little bit." Luna shrugged then begged, "Please mom..."

"Well, you already know that Charles is my uncle and your father's adopted parent." Anna thought of what she could tell Luna, "You know that your Aunt Vivi is your father's adopted sister... you know about my parents... you know about the bells..." Anna frowned to herself, "I don't know what else to tell you."

"How did you and dad meet?" Luna sat on the counter and watched her mother was the potatoes.

"Your father fell in love with me before I could even walk." Anna recalled the memory.

"Wait..." Luna stopped, "You're kidding, right? That's just..." Luna closed her eyes in disgust, "Eww."

Anna laughed at her daughter's reaction, "He never took advantage of me or anything. Your father was a true gentlemen." She continued, "He met me before I was even born."

"How?" Luna gasped.

"He..." Anna started but then was interrupted.

"I saw your mother... in Isabelle's womb." Gale entered the kitchen.

Luna's jaw dropped, "What!? That's so cool dad!"

"Shouldn't you be helping... your mother?" Gale asked.

Luna jumped off of the counter, grabbed a potato from the clean pile, began to peel it. She asked her mother, "When did you first start loving dad?"

Anna stopped washing and thought for a while, "To be honest with you Luna," she continued to wash, "I can't remember, but I would have to say that it was when your father saved me."

"From what?" Luna grew curious.

"That's enough for today..." Gale interrupted and rubbed his wife's shoulders.

"I agree." Anna smiled sheepishly and kissed Gale's cheek.

Luna glanced at her parents disgusted. _They're always hiding something. _She dropped the potato that she was washing and excused herself, "I'm going to walk the beach." Luna walked out the door.

"She's upset," Anna watched their daughter run off towards the shore from the kitchen window.

"She'll be fine." Gale resumed Luna's potato cleaning position.

"Go talk to her Gale." Anna nudged him, "I can finish this up."

"Why me?" Gale asked nervously, "You should do it... you're better at these things..."

"She doesn't need me Gale," Anna leaned her head on his shoulder, "She needs you."

"Alright." Gale sighed and dried his hands on a rag before he headed out to follow Luna.

Once he was out the front door, Gale figured that if Luna was really on a walk then if would be easier for him to teleport to her. _Then she'll call me a hypocrite... _Gale frowned but continued to form a portal anyway. The portals that he formed to reach his daughter were always a fiery red, just like her aura, but in the center there was a streak of white. He located Luna and immediately stepped through the portal. When he arrived, Gale walked out of the portal behind Luna who had her head in her knees and mindlessly drug a stick through the sand. Gale wondered if she noticed his presence or the fact that the waves her coming up past her toes.

"Luna..." Gale placed his hand on her shoulder. She jumped, "How are you feeling...?"

"I've been better..." Luna shrugged.

"Are you... nervous... about tomorrow?" Gale sat beside her.

"No, I'm not," She turned her body to face her father, "But to be honest with you, I'm mad." Luna continued and her speech quickened, "I'm mad because I hardly know anything about you and mom. When I go to this new world tomorrow people might ask me about my parents and I don't even know what to tell them!"

Gale glanced down at the sand, "I'm sorry..." There was an awkward minute of silence between the two of them before Gale spoke up once again, "Our past goes back over several centuries... and most of it... is disturbing." He looked out at the sun setting on the ocean, "it frightens me..."

Luna turned from angry to sympathetic, "Dad... I didn't know..."

"What frightens me the most is... you leaving tomorrow because..." Gale frowned, "I'm afraid that I am going to lose you... like I almost lost your mother..."

"Dad..." Luna hugged her father, "You're not going to lose me, and besides!," She kissed his cheek with a smile to reassure him, "I'll be back as soon as my task is complete!

He smiled halfheartedly, "I know..." He sighed and then shrugged her off of him. Gale faced Luna and asked, "Would you like... to learn a spell that... your grandfather taught me?"

"What?!" Luna stifled a laugh, "Grandfather Charles taught you a spell?!"

"He was my mentor... and the headmaster of heart..." Gale placed his hand to his chin and recalled the spell.

"He never told me that!" Luna gasped, "How did you, out of all immortals, become his mentee?"

Gale smirked at her, "Do you want to learn it... or not?"

"Of course!" Luna nodded eagerly.

"The spell is simple, but it is most powerful..." Gale placed his hand above Luna's heart and chanted, "Oh heart of gold, never weary or old, share the beliefs of the purest self." Above the location of Luna's heart glowed faintly and moments later it illuminated a bright, white glow.

"Cool!" Luna yelled, "Is that my heart?"

"Yes," Gale smiled, "And just as I suspected... you have my personality... and your mother's heart..."

"So it shows the aura of the heart," Luna noted, "But how is that a powerful spell?"

"It shows the intentions of a person..." Gale released the spell with a flick of his wrist, "It will help show you... who are your friends and you're foes..."

"Nifty..." Luna understood and then asked eagerly, "Can I see your heart?!"

"I think you should try it on your mother..." Gale laughed nervously.

"Please dad?" Luna begged.

"Alright..." He agreed, "But no questions..."

"Fine..." Luna repeated the spell and her eyes grew to see her father's multicolored heart, "What do all of the colors mean?!"

"Purple is the color of my aura... And black show the impurities of my heart..." Gale explained.

"But why so little white?" Luna noticed only a few streaks of purity, "What did you do?"

"I thought I said no questions..." Gale laughed at Luna's curiosity, "I don't think you want to know about what I think of your mother..."

"Ahhh..." Luna released the spell and blushed, "Too much information..."

Gale laughed harder and rose to his feet, "Let's go home Luna..." He held out his hand to pull Luna up to her feet.

"Yeah," Luna smiled and hugged her father once again, "And Luna… don't… worry about tomorrow..." Gale kissed his daughter's head.

"I'm anything but worried dad!" She giggled and held his hand like she did when she was a child, "Thanks dad; I love you."

"I love you too." Together they walked back home, hand in hand.


	5. Gift of Blessing

**Chapter 5: Gift of Blessing**

The next morning came too soon for Luna. The night before was sleepless and she continuously bombarded with weird dreams of things that she did not understand. The rooster on their farm cock-a-doodled and the sun peaked its rays through the hills and into her window. Luna rubbed her eyes and stretched her arms towards the ceiling. A few stiff bones popped and cracked from the previous day and she let out a big yawn.

"Time to wake up, Luna," Anna creaked open her daughter's door, "Come on, I need your help."

"What d'ya need?" Luna tossed her legs over the side of her bed and let out another yawn.

"Just because you're leaving today doesn't mean that you can avoid your chores." Anna laughed and tossed a pair of work clothes at Luna, "Hurry up sweetie, I don't have all day."

Luna watched her mother shut the door of her room before she grumbled, "Nor do I." Luna pushed herself out of bed and clothed herself in the red shirt and jean shorts that Anna tossed at her. Luna brushed out the wrinkles of her clothes and tiredly finished her morning routine. Once out the door, Luna saw her mother using the hoe on a dry patch of land. Luna lightly jogged to meet up with her mother and she asked her what to do.

"Plant these green tea leaves next to the eggplant." Anna instructed Luna, "And don't forget to water them afterwards."

"I won't." Luna replied and knelt down to the ground.

On a spot that Anna had sowed, Luna dug a small hole that was about two inches wide and deep. She placed three small green tea leaves into the hole and covered them up. Using a simple elemental spell, Luna called on the spirits of water to lightly shower the newly planted tea leaves. Out of all of the elements, fire was her favorite. She loved how the spell felt in her palm and how the energy surged through her body every time she summoned the element. Luna effortlessly moved through the row of sowed soil for the green tea leaves and when she had finished watering each plant, Luna went to look for her mother inside of their barn. The barn was old and needed a fresh coat of paint, but it still had its cute charm and was always filled with livestock. There were three of each animal: cows, horses, and sheep; one ostrich named Eugene and a goat named Simon; and in their chicken coop there were five chickens, three ducks, and three silk worms. Every animal lived happily on Rosebuds Ranch and there was nothing changing that happiness.

"Luna, can you help me milk the cows?" Anna called from behind one of the cows.

Without saying a word, Luna grabbed an empty bucket and sat on a stool in front of Lil' Missy. Lil' Missy was their oldest cow and she was as stubborn as ever on that day for Luna. Lil' Missy snorted and grunted and she refused to allow Luna milk her.

"Hold still!" Luna barked at the cow impatiently. Lil' Missy kicked her hind leg and smacked the bucket out of underneath her udders. "Mom!" Luna whined, "Lil' Missy won't let me milk her!"

"Luna," Anna sighed and walked away from what she was doing to soothe Lil' Missy. Anna cooed and whispered sweet and comforting words into Lil' Missy's ear before she told Luna, "Try now."

Luna struggled with the udders two more times before she could get the milk out of Lil' Missy.

"Luna," Anna reminded her, "You need to be gentle with the animals and comfort them before you start milking them."

"Sorry, mom." Luna apologized and then stood up from the stool, "Sorry, girl." Luna petted Lil' Missy's back. The cow let out a low moo and then walked towards her feeding stall.

"Go inside and wash up," Anna nodded, "I'll make breakfast a while, and then we will head out towards the Goddess's Springs, okay?"

Luna shot her head up, "Wait, where's Dad?"

Anna smiled and hugged Luna, "He's meeting us there." She gave her daughter a tight squeeze before letting go, "I'm going to miss you."

"Geez mom!" Luna laughed, "I haven't left yet!" She kissed her mother's cheek and walked out of the barn and towards the house.

* * *

"So," Luna started awkwardly, "Where's dad?"

Luna and Anna arrived that the springs around noon. The Harvest Goddess was waiting by her tree and was having a conversation with all of the Harvest Sprites. Neither Gale nor the Harvest King had arrived yet.

"You know Luna," Anna leaned over and hugged her daughter again, "I have no idea."

"What do you mean you don't know?!" Luna jumped out of her arms in shock, "I thought you said we were supposed to meet him here!"

"Luna," Anna began, "When the time comes you will learn to trust someone with all of your heart, and when you find that someone, you tend not worry about the little details."

"But don't you think that not knowing where dad is is a big detail?" Luna questioned her mother's trust.

"No," She thought a little harder before she repeated, "No, not really."

Luna was beginning to question her mother's carefree smile.

"Did we miss her?" An older gentleman's voice rang in Luna's ear.

"Grandfather?" Luna winced out the question. She turned towards the voice and saw a tall man with wrinkles around his eyes smile widely at the sight of Luna. "Grandfather Charles!" Luna dashed towards him wide open arms.

"Ah! My sweet little moon." Charles gasped at her abrupt speed. He returned her embrace with an even bigger hug, "I am glad that I didn't miss you."

"I'm so happy to see you! " Luna said and pulled away slightly, "Did dad fetch you?"

"Of course..." Gale kissed his daughter's forehead and walked over to his wife, _Sorry that I'm late..._

_So that's where you were..._ Anna smirked before kissing him on the lips.

"Thank you for coming today!" Luna thanked her grandfather and sighed, "Too bad that I'm leaving. I would much rather spend time with you and catch up on things."

"There will be time for that when you return." Charles kissed his granddaughter's forehead, "Now, there is another reason why I am here, and I need you to close your eyes for this one."

"What is it?" Luna became jumpy and anxious as she closed her eyes. She felt a light cloth drape around her shoulder blades and felt her grandfather's cold hands tie a knot at her neckline.

"Open them." Charles instructed.

Luna opened them and her eyes fell upon the beautiful silk cape. It was a bright red and there were intricate yellow stitchings throughout the cape. The cord was spun out of gold and there was a hood attached to the neckline of the cape. "It's gorgeous Grandfather! Thank you!"

"You'll have to thank Rafael for that one," Charles answered honestly, "He finished it this morning."

"It was made... from the flames... of the universe..." Gale walked up behind his daughter and squeezed her shoulders lightly, "And the stitches... are from the scales of dragons..."

"It's beautiful..." Luna said breathlessly, "Thank you both!" Luna hugged her grandfather again tightly.

"Anything for my sweet little moon," Charles smiled and hugged her one last time before turning her over to Gale.

"Luna..." Gale hugged her tightly, "Remember what your mother and I taught you..."

"Of course." Luna hugged him and kissed his cheek before embracing her mother, "I love you both."

"And we love you." Anna hugged her daughter. Before Anna let go she said, "You have a good head on your shoulders and a wonderful heart," Anna pulled away and stared Luna straight in the eye, "Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise."

"I won't let them." Luna laughed and let go of her mother. Luna legs felt like jello as she walked towards the Harvest Goddess.

"Are you ready, child?" The Goddess held out her hand towards Luna.

Luna nodded and took her hand. The Harvest King arrived and stood before them, "You are going on this journey to save Waffle Island, is that correct?" He only asked the question to affirm Luna's decision.

She nodded and gulped before she said, "And when I am done I plan to return here to Castanet."

"Understood." The Harvest King turned away from them and lifted his hands to the sky. He shouted with a mighty voice, "Open the gates of the Heavens!" The fluffy clouds parted on the common of the god and a rainbow emerged from the clouds. The six colored translucent bridge touched the ground in front of Luna's feet.

Luna stared down at the bridge and reality hit her like a ton of bricks. She licked her chapped lips nervously and took a deep breath, "I can do this." She encouraged herself. Luna took a step onto the rainbow, "Help the goddess," and another step, "Then come back home," and another, "piece of cake..." Luna looked back at her parents as she thought silently, _Right?_

Luna waved goodbye to her parents one last time and rushed off towards the sky. _I can do this. I can do this!_


	6. Falling Sky

**Hello everyone! Here is another chapter update! Enjoy!**

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Chapter 6: Falling Sky

"Where am I?'' Luna landed hard on the dusty gravel. Her legs were bent underneath of her and her hands were beside her. Luna grasped the ground and felt how dry the dirt, more like dust, was and she raised it to her face, "Dry to the bone,.." Luna mumbled and let the dirt fall between the cracks in her fingers. She rose to her feet and dusted off her knees. "This is terrible..." Luna spoke softly to herself, "I hope that the people here have some sort of fertile land."

There was a shuffling noise behind her and Luna turned around immediately, her fists clenched in defense. Luna saw a frail child with a head too large for its body. The child's large eyes protruded from their sockets and were yellowed. It's kneecaps and elbows were also large compared to it's tiny limbs connecting to them. The child was pale and it's veins popped through it's skin. Luna picked up some more dirt and, using similar tactics to alchemy, Luna transformed the dirt into a small loaf of bread. She cautiously handed it to the child with the best warm smile she could produce for it. The sickly, beady-eyed child cowered back in fear and stumbled before falling flat on it's butt.

"Hey," Luna approached it, "I won't hurt you." She held out the loaf towards the frightened child. The closer Luna got the further back the child scurried. She stopped approaching it and pulled a cloth out of thin air. She never took her eyes off the child as she placed the loaf of bread on the cloth. Luna noticed that the child never took his eyes off of the loaf a bread as she stepped back a few inches. Once Luna stopped moving and the child saw that Luna was not moving towards it, the child greedily crawled towards the bread and shredded it to nothing.

"You must be thirsty too." Luna smiled and pulled a small clay bowl from behind her back filled with clear, cool water.

The child tilted its head in confusion and then slowly crawled over to Luna with great hesitation. The child grazed its cold hand against Luna and quickly snatched the bowl from her grasp.

_It's so bony..._ Luna nervous for the child thought silently, _I could probably break it if I touched it._ Luna watched the child lap up the water. She saw each vertebrate in its spine poke through its dirty rags. _It's so frail and tiny that I can't even tell the child's gender._

"Get away from there, Cam!" A woman's shrilled.

Both the child and Luna jumped at the sound of her voice. The boy named Cam was pulled so hard by the woman that he dropped his bowl of water and it shattered to dust. Luna jumped to her feet and instantly clenched her fists in defense. Her fists were covered in flames and Luna was ready to attack at any moment.

"Cam," The women knelt beside the child, "Are you all right?"

_She looks worse than the child,_ Luna lowered her defense after she realized that this woman was the child's mother. The mother wore a long brown smock and had a brown tie to pull her bluish hair back. The woman's cheeks sunk into her bony face and the woman's fragile fingers raked through Cam's thin brown hair.

"What have you done to Cam?" A man growled behind Luna.

Luna turned and found a burly man with piercing green eyes. He was thin like the others, but one could see same muscle on him. "Who are you?" Luna asked.

"What kind of a question is that?!" A woman crossed her arms next to the man with green eyes. Her own amethyst eyes narrowed and she continued with a frown, "If you knew any better, witch, then you would be leaving right this instant!"

_Geez..._ Luna complained, _Some welcome party._

"Why are you here?" A calmer gentleman stepped out from behind the feisty woman and asked in a frightened tone.

"I'm here to help you." Luna turned to where the mother was with her child and found more people surrounding her, "All of you." Luna spoke louder, "Look, I don't know what has happened here, but I am here to help return this land back to normal."

"Normal?!" A blonde headed woman snorted, "This land hasn't prospered in about twenty years!"

_Just before I was born._ Luna noted, "What has happened here that has forced you all to live like this?"

"The Witch Princess." A scared child popped it's head out from the feisty woman's back. The child held the woman's garments tightly.

"Michele!" The feisty woman softened towards the child, "Let the grownups handle this..."

"What Witch Princess?" Luna interrupted and interrogated, "What has this witch done?"

"She froze the Harvest Goddess."A red-headed woman joined the crowd with a swollen belly and fragile limbs.

"Dakota," A green headed man approached her and grasped her shoulders gently, "Please go lay back down."

"Heath," Dakota pushed him off of her, "I am not going to lay down and do nothing." She pointed at Luna, "If this woman says that she is here to help then I am going to share what I know.''

Luna froze as Dakota approached her. Dakota looked ill-nourished and deathly. "How far are you?" Luna referred to Dakota's baby.

For as sick as she appeared, Dakota still managed to give Luna a glowing smile, "About seven months." She held her belly and rubbed it softly, ''The village doctor, Van, said that the baby may not make it." Dakota grew teary-eyed, "But I know that this little one is strong, and it'll come into this world stronger than anyone of us, right, honey?"

Dakota looked at her husband, Heath, and he gave a weak smile, "Yeah... that's right sweetie."

_Good Goddess..._ Luna cursed silently and looked down at the dirt, "I can't do much now, but..." She knelt down and made another loaf of bread out of the dirt, "Here..." She handed it to Dakota, "Take this."

Dakota took it but instead of eating it herself she walked over to Michele and handed it to the child, "Here you go sweetie. The nice lady made this just for you, so you better eat up."

"Don't you dare give that to her!" The feisty woman smacked the loaf out of Michelle's hand and the bread returned to dust, "That witch could have poisoned it!"

"Why would I do that?" Luna snapped, "If I wanted to kill you, don't you think I would have done so already?!"

The feisty woman shut her mouth and looked down at Michele. Luna could tell that the woman immediately regretted that decision so Luna walked over to the girl, and like she did for Cam, Luna pulled out a clay bowl from behind her back. "Michele," Luna waited for the girl to come out from her hiding spot, "Look inside of this bowl and tell me what this is."

Michele peered inside of bowl nervously and shrugged.

"Do not know what this is?" Luna asked. Michele shook her head no then Luna gave her the bowl, 'Drink it then."

Michele looked at the bowl and examined it before gulping down its contents. "It's water...?" Michele squeaked out an answer, a bit unsure of herself.

"Yes." Luna smiled and stepped away from the child, "Where is this village's well?"

"It was destroyed." A new voice appeared.

Luna turned towards the direction of the voice and narrowed her eyes, "Who are you?" This person made her feel edgy.

"A better question is, who are you?" The fully clothed camouflaged man removed his hood. Luna felt the coldness in his icy blue eyes. His hair was spiky and onyx. If the light shone at the right moment, one could see specks of silver in his hair.

"My name is Luna," she answered strongly.

The man pulled a deer from behind his back and walked towards the burly man, "Where do should I put this Roy?"

Roy answered, "On the table in the back," He turned and headed towards a blacksmith's shop, "I'm going to need your help Matt!"

A quiet male with brown hair raced after Roy and the mysterious character.

_I don't like him._ The crowd of people receded and Luna stood her ground, _Not one bit..._

"Wahhhh!"

Luna shot her head up and saw a small blob falling from the sky. _What the...?_ Luna held out her hands and reached out for the blob. A flaming fireball landed in her palms and once the flames diminished Luna could see that this blob was wearing a green outfit and was something she recognized from her life in Castanet.

"A Harvest Sprite!?" Luna gasped.

"Oww..." The sprite rubbed its bum and adjusted its cap, "I can't keep landing like this..." Once the sprite stood on its feet did it finally notice Luna. "Oh! Hello!"

"Who are you?" Luna poked at him.

"My name is Uranus." He announced and then realize, "You can see me?"

"Yeah." Luna pulled off his tiny cap, "You really are a Harvest Sprite."

"Yes," Uranus nodded and then asked, "Are you the prophecy?"

"What prophecy?" Luna shook her head in confusion.

Uranus floated off of Luna's hands and fluttered around her. He examined Luna quickly and concluded that she was not the one.

"What do you mean, I'm not the one?"

"Well," Uranus explained, "Long ago my family and I approached a man with a prophecy. That prophecy said for us to find her in order to save him."

_Why does that sound familiar?_ Luna asked, "You said that you told a man." Luna waited for a confirmation from Uranus before she asked, "What..." She hesitated, "Did the man look like?"

"He had two different eye colors and was kind of mean." Uranus described the man, "We told him that we thought he would know what it meant."

"Did your Harvest Goddess tell you that?" Luna intrigued.

"It may have been..." Uranus frowned, "The Goddess was frozen a year or two before that though."

"She may have had some energy left to send you a message." Luna concluded, I'm going to have to talk to Dad about this. Luna walked past the Harvest Sprite and headed towards the blacksmith's shop.

"Where are you going!?" Uranus called after Luna.

"To investigate."

* * *

**And now the meat of the story officially begins! Please continue to read and review! Thank you!**


	7. Speciality

**Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad all of you enjoy the story as much as Bella and I do :D. I hope you like the chapter! ~Scipio**

**Also, a special thank you to Hot Chocolate Muffinz for following and making this story as one of their favorites!**

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Chapter 7: Speciality

Luna barged into the blacksmith's shop and found Roy and Matt skinning the dead animal. They looked up and Roy scowled, "Do you witches have any manners?"

"What do you know about the Witch Princess?" Luna ignored the remark.

"To be honest with you, sweetheart," Roy pulled his bloody hands away from the animal, "Not much."

Matt finally spoke, "Why are you helping us anyway?" He never looked at Luna because he was focused on the deer, but if he would have looked up, Matt would have saw a confused and unsure look on Luna's face.

"I have always wanted to help people," Luna gave her best answer, "and you all look like you need help."

"What we need," Roy snapped, "Is a world without bloody witches like you."

"Roy," Matt sighed, "She has done nothing wrong."

"She hasn't done anything yet," He corrected Matt, "But that doesn't mean that she won't."

"Luna."

"What?" Roy scrunched up his face.

Luna repeated with a sigh, "My name is Luna and I think that the Witch Princess is a bigger threat to all of us than me." _I hope that they understand how sacred an immortal's name is…_

"A witch is a witch." Roy gave a curt reply, "That'll never change." He washed off his hands with dirty water and then stormed out the door.

"Please excuse him." Matt apologized, "He's a bit tense."

"Aren't you all?" Luna thought she had mumbled that to herself.

Matt laughed and then introduced himself. "I would shake your hand," he shrugged, "But my hands aren't the cleanest at the moment."

Luna laughed, "No worries."

Matt continued to skin the animal, "I only know that the Witch lives in a fortress in the deepest part of the forest."

"Excuse me?"

"You asked about the Witch earlier," Matt reminded Luna.

"Oh yeah." Luna remembered, "Dakota mentioned that the Harvest Goddess was frozen."

"Yeah." Matt nodded, "It was right after Angie and I got married."

"Is Cam your son?" Luna asked.

"Yeah." He smiled half hearted, "We had a daughter too."

Luna noticed Matt's choice of words, "I'm sorry for your loss."

Matt changed the topic, "What kind of magic do you do?"

Luna found a counter and pulled herself on it, "I prefer fire magic, but illusion and alchemy is fun too."

"So turning dirt into bread is alchemy?" Matt asked interested.

"Yeah." Luna surprised by Matt's knowledge, "And the bowl was made from the dust as well."

"What about the water?" Matt doubted, "There is no way that could have been made from dust."

Luna hopped off the counter and walked over to the table where Matt worked, "That was elemental." She closed her fist and then opened her palm. There was water in the cup of her palm, "Fire maybe my specialty, but I know all elemental magic."

"That is why you asked for the well earlier!" Matt exclaimed, "How does that work?!"

"Magic is from the heart." Luna found a bucket and filled it with fresh water, "Once tapped into, it's power is limitless."

"Thank you Luna." Matt moved away from the animal with his hands full of the pelt. Matt swung the fur over a rope line behind him and proceeded to toss the animal in a bucket that was on the ground.

"What are you going to do with that?" Luna asked curiously.

"Toss it." Matt frowned, "There's no one here who can make a fire."

"I can do it." Luna smirked when Matt faced her, "As I've already said, fire is my specialty."

* * *

"It's sure nice of you to cook their deer for them." Uranus sat on Luna's shoulder.

"Yeah, let's just hope that I don't burn it." Luna sighed and leaned back on a dirt hill. She had taken her robe off to reveal a brown peasant's dress that Dakota loaned her. Dakota did not mind Luna wearing her clothes because they were currently too small for her.

"You won't." Uranus encouraged.

"So," Luna hoisted herself in an upright position, "What did you find out?"

"Being that no one can see me," Uranus fluttered above Luna until she situated herself before he returned to his spot, "Not much."

"That helps." Luna looked out at all of the village. Her spot on that hill was the highest out of the whole village and she could see each busy village member.

The feisty woman, who Luna found out was named Lucy, helped her daughter, Michele, and Angie with washing the dishes in some clean water that Luna was able to supply. Heath was with Roy, Lucy's husband, and Matt were making a sturdy fire pit out of stones and for fuel Cam collected various sticks and rotted wood. Vivian was married to Van, the village doctor, and she was searching through his books to find any information on the Harvest Goddess. Luna hoped that Dakota was inside her house and resting.

"That hunter is no where to be seen." Luna mumbled.

"Hey Luna!" Uranus exclaimed, "I forgot to tell you about my family!"

"What about them?"

"In case you haven't noticed, I am named after the planet Uranus and my whole family is too!" Uranus explained, "There are seven others like me; Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Pluto."

"Who is Earth?" Luna took a mental note of the family.

"Huh?" Uranus confused.

"Earth," Luna repeated, "You said that there are seven others like you, but I only counted six planets. Who is Earth?"

"Well," Uranus explained, "The Harvest Goddess's name is Gaia, and she is apart of my family too!"

_Gaia, _Luna thought, _means Earth in Greek. _"So, are you saying that if I find your family we can save the Harvest Goddess? "

"Yeah!" Uranus chimed, "How did you know?"

Luna poked the sprite and laughed, "Why else would you be telling me this?"

"Luna!" Cam ran as fast as he could up the hill, "We're ready for you!"

Luna stood to her feet and hoisted Cam over her shoulder. "Thanks for coming to get me!" Luna laughed and carried him down the hill on her back.

"Hey Luna," Cam asked, "Who were..." He shook his head.

"What?" Luna pushed him to continue.

"Nevermind." Cam smiled innocently forgot what he was going to ask.

Once Luna and Cam reached to the bottom of the hill, Luna carefully lowered him from her back and saw that the deer was prepared with dried herbs wrapped around the meat. Luna cracked her knuckles and tilted her neck side to side until each heard a pop on each side. Then, Luna saw a large empty wooden bucket to her left and filled it up with water.

"Just in case if I run out of energy," Luna winked a tease at Cam who was on her right. Luna then snapped her fingers and ignited a small flame.

"How is that suppose to light the whole pit?" Roy skeptical about this whole situation.

"Simple." Luna smirked and rolled the small flame to her palm, "Cam, have you ever blown out a candle on a birthday cake before?" Luna knelt beside him and he shook his head no. "Have you ever had a birthday before?" Luna asked and he nodded yes.

Luna smiled and shared a memory, "Well, where I come from we place a candle on a whole cake every year for our birthdays. Then, after the candle is lit, we make a wish and blow out the candle." Luna blew out the small flame. "Do you think you can do that for me Cam?" Luna reignited the flame and asked, "Do you think you can make a wish and then blow out this flame?"

Cam nodded and Luna faced the flame towards a whole in the fire pit that allows air to flow through.

Luna waited a bit before she asked, "Ready Cam?"

Cam closed his eyes and took him a deep breath. He blew out his breath with all of his might and Heath gasped, "Amazing!"

Cam opened his eyes and was awed. He saw that the whole pit was ignited in flames. "Did I do that?" Cam asked in shock.

"Yes, you did Cam." Luna laughed and raised him up in the air, "And you did a fabulous job!" She sat him back on the ground and he raced off to find his mother.

"How did he do that?" Heath still amazed asked when Cam was out of earshot of them.

"I did all of the work," Luna smiled, "But it's nice to see the children smile."

"Now you're giving our children false hope?'' Roy yelled.

Matt defended before Luna could say a word, ''At least it's better than no hope at all!" Roy stood speechless then stormed off away from the pit.

Luna silently mouthed, "thank you", to Matt who acknowledged her with a nod and a smile.

* * *

Later that evening, Luna sat alone around the fire pit and was tired out from her magic use the of day. "Hey Uranus." She called out to the sprite who then appeared from nowhere, "Do you mind flying around to see what people know about the witch or goddess?"

"Sure thing!" Uranus disappeared again.

"Who do you think you are?" A new and unfamiliar voice appeared next to Luna.

"Excuse me?" Luna offended rotated around at the sound of the voice. It was the mysterious man who brought the deer to the village. He was hooded and leaned against a dead tree. Luna saw him and then turned back towards the village and asked coolly, "Who do you think I am?"

"A nuisance." The man sat on her right side, "Who sent you here?"

Luna laughed rudely, "Don't you even dare think that you have the right to ask me these questions." She got up and walked closer to the pit.

Luna felt the stare of several sets of eyes as she placed her hand into the orange flame. The touch or feeling never bothered Luna and it was most likely because fire magic was her element and it burned in her aura. Luna scooped up the flame and as if it was a ball she tossed it from side to side. Fire had always calmed Luna and it cleared her mind. She continued to toss it from her left hand to her right and back again. There was laughter from Michele and Cam which encouraged Luna to continue her trick. Luna held the ball in one hand and smiled at the children. She then placed the fireball to her lips and swallowed it. The children's mouths dropped to see Luna in no pain. Then Luna kneeled in front of the children, "Both of you place your hands, palms up, in mine." Cam more than eagerly obeyed, but Michele was a little hesitant.

Luna asked, "Can I promise that neither of you will pull away from me?"

"What happens if we do?" Michele asked nervously.

"I am about to create an illusion," Luna explained, "As long as you are connected to me the illusion will not hurt." She asked again, "Now, do you both promise not to let go until I tell you to?" They nodded in unison. Luna closed her eyes and focused on materializing the chemical energy that she swallowed into their hands. She felt the heat run through her veins and closer to her palms. Luna grasped the back of the children's hands and allowed the energy to slip from her palm and into their palms.

Michele shrieked with laughter and Cam stayed silent with wide eyes. Luna opened her eyes to see two phoenixes. Luna's eyes glowed a bright white as she focused on the two fiery birds.

"Can we touch them!?" Michele grew antsy where Cam was now timid.

"With your other hand," Luna instructed and closed her eyes in hope that she would not scare the children, ''Yes."

Michele's hand flew up to the bird and petted its long feathers and Cam stared at it.

"Are they real?" Cam trembled.

"These particular ones, no," Luna reopened her eyes and added before Cam could frown, "But yes, these birds exist."

"I want one." Cam's smile grew wide as he stroked the phoenix's head.

"When you're older maybe you can travel the world and find one," Luna smiled at the boy's dreams.

"Like that'll ever happen." Michele frowned, "Mommy said that without the Harvest Goddess we're better off dead..."

Luna stared at the child in denial of what Michele had said, _They can't be saying that. _Luna did not hear a response from Cam. _Can they? _She recalled Roy's words from earlier, "_Now you're giving our children false hope!" _

Luna thought determined_, No... I'm not giving them false hope. I'm giving them a future._

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**This chapter was written to "Burn" by Ellie Goulding. We hope that you all enjoyed this chapter and thank you for reading and reviewing!**

**Our school lives are becoming busy, so please continue to enjoy as we slowly update these chapters! Thank you!**


	8. Which witch is which?

**Hello everyone! Happy October! I love this chapter title and we hope that you all will enjoy this chapter!**

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Chapter 8: Which witch is which?

Luna started her journey towards the Witch's home in the woods early the next morning. Luna was up so early that the sun had just rose past the hills and the morning haze was still heavy in the air. Luna did not know how far she would have to travel into the woods but she knew that if it got too late, she could teleport back to the village.

"Leaving so soon?'' A tiny voice yawned and popped out of Luna's hood.

"Yeah." Luna gave a tired smile.

"Why so early though?" Uranus rubbed his beady eyes.

"Because I don't exactly know where the Witch's lair is and l don't know how big the forest is," Luna shuffled a satchel around her neck, "I am going to assume that the witch lives in the center of the forest though or more towards the backside."

"How do you know?" Uranus twisted his body around, "Uh oh... you have company."

Luna quickly turned, and only saw Cam running towards her. "What are you doing up?"

"I wanted to wish you luck before you left." He hugged her waist and Luna noticed how much energy the child had now that he was fed a decent meal.

"Thank you," Luna hugged him gently but it meant alot to her that he came to see her off, "I'll be back by dusk."

"But you won't get very far if you come back so early," Cam pointed out.

Luna kissed his forehead, "Don't worry, I'll be back."

Cam held up his pinky to her and asked, "Promise?"

"Promise." Luna interlocked her pinky with his and she waited for him to head home before she left for her quest.

* * *

Luna had been searching for about three hours and the humidity in the forest was only rising with each hour.

"Can't you do something about this weather, Uranus?" Luna breathlessly asked her companion.

"No." Uranus then said on a cheery note, "But Jupiter can!"

"What do you mean that Jupiter can?" Luna felt that she passed the tree one her left at least four times.

"He controls the sky and the lightning," Uranus explained, "And besides, he is much older than me."

_Is he talking about a storm? _Luna wondered, _If Jupiter falls through the sky like Uranus did, Jupiter might fall during a thunderstorm._

"Hey!" Uranus pointed past Luna, "What's that?"

Luna looked towards the direction of his finger and saw a large stone fortress. "You have to be kidding me!" Luna groaned and trudged towards the fortress.

"I am not kidding you," Uranus crossed his arms and pouted, "I want to know what that is."

"That would be the witch's lair." Luna groaned again, "And I really hope that it's easy to navigate through." Luna approached the fortress quietly and hid by the closest tree.

"Why do you say that?" Uranus asked.

"Because that looks like it would take a day and a half to navigate through." Luna frowned at the thought of it. Just as Luna was about to take a step forward she was pulled back by someone. "What the...?!" Luna's mouth was muffled and her back was pressed hard against the tree. Luna could tell just by this person's stature that it was a man. She could not see his face because of his hood, and at the moment she could not move.

"I thought I heard something over here!" A voice shouted from a close distance.

Four pairs of feet rushed closer to them and the closer that they approached them the closer the man got to Luna. From a small hole in his hood, Luna could see at least two sets of guards running side by side past where they were hidden. Luna knew that the threat was gone once she felt the man loosen his grip. Without wasting another second, Luna ignited her hands and burned his cloak.

He panicked and threw off his cloak. Luna could see the blue in his eyes, "You!"

"What the hell was that for!?" He cursed loudly.

Luna answered as cool as she could, "That was too close for comfort." She darted her glance away from his eyes. _Why do I always get a weird feeling when I look at him?_

"Is that what I get for saving your life?" He growled a bit softer.

"I would have been fine on my own." Luna answered stubbornly.

Luna walked off towards the castle when she heard him call out, "You're walking into a trap!"

"No I'm... Wah!" Her left ankle was pulled out from underneath and the next thing that Luna knew was she was dangling from a tree branch about five feet off of the ground. Luna growled at the trap and threw a fireball at the branch. The branch was unaffected by the flame. "What?" Luna gasped.

"The fortress is protected from all magic," The man met Luna at eye level, "You need a knife to cut your way out." He pulled out a knife, "Which I just happen to have."

Luna growled, "Then get me down."

"Only if you say please." He teased her.

He was so close to her that Luna could smell his fresh scent. Luna blushed and was irked by the idea, "Please."

"Please what?"

_He's enjoying this... _Luna glared and threatened, "Get me down or I'll scorch you."

He backed up defensively with his hands in the air and called for a truce. Then he pushed the knife against the rope around her ankle and sawed at the rope. Once freed, Luna landed hard onto the ground. She jumped up and dusted off her clothing. Without a thanks, Luna watched her step as she pushed forward towards the witch's lair. Luna could hear his footsteps close behind her but she paid no mind until he spoke up.

"You're heading the wrong way." He said once they entered the lair.

Luna spun around and growled, "Who are you?"

"Turn left." He pointed left and headed in that direction.

Luna, vexed by his behavior, stomped closer to him and flicked her wrists towards the ground. Vines sprawled around her and shot up his legs. The vines grew tighter around his legs the more that he struggled.

"Are you mad?!" He harshly snapped and pulled at the vines.

Luna laughed loudly, "Oh! I have been called worse things than mad, honey." She pushed the vines towards the closest wall and slammed him hard against the stone. Luna approached him with dominance and smirked, "Now, tell me your name or I will slowly roasted you to a crisp." She allowed her fingertips ignite with fire that was ready to dance.

"There's another round of knights coming," The man listened closely, "We have to hide or they'll catch us."

"Give me your name." Luna ordered.

"We have to hide!" The man snapped. The knights were approaching at a faster pace.

"_I_ _am _so much more terrifying than them," Luna emphasized and placed one of her flaming tips to his thigh and allowed the fire to spread along his clothes, "Now, if you want the flames to stop, then tell me your name." She loved taunting him.

"Artemis!" He yelled and immediately Luna called back her flames and pressed her body close to him and cast a cloaking spell.

"I thought I heard the noise coming from this way!" The head knight of that search party called out. The six guards jogged passed Luna and Artemis. Sometime within that quick shuffle, Luna managed to cover Artemis' s mouth with her hand to keep him quiet and once they were positive that the trouble had passed, Luna lowered her hand.

"And you thought that we were too close before." He smirked at Luna who then jumped back.

She coughed, "So, how do you know so much about this place?"

"I just do." Artemis pulled at the vines, "Now, let me go."

"You know what," Luna smiled devilishly, "I have a better idea." She did not lower the vines, but she did move them off of the wall, "You are going to be my personal tour guide." She poked at his chest, "Now which way, mister?"

He nodded his head up, "Up those flight of stairs and veer right."

Luna, with her palm up, bent her index finger twice at Artemis as if silently she said, "come on", and the vines inched forward behind Luna. Once at the top of the stairs they took the right and the entrance of the witch's room was not hard to miss. The door was elaborate with mystical gems of all different colors and detailed with carvings of ancient spells.

"This woman certainly loves her jewels." Luna ran her hand along the trim of the door.

"Now that we're here," Artemis tugged on his vines, "Can you release me?"

"Why would I do that?" Luna faced him and winked, "You're going to stay right here until I come out."

"I could get caught!" Artemis glared.

"No you won't," Luna gave a small laugh and pushed him against the wall. She placed the same cloaking spell on him as before, and she opened the doors to the witch's room.

The room was large and empty. The only things in the room were the people in the front of the room and one female in a throne chair. The blonde on the throne was dressed in a black dress that was not too revealing, but it was enough for anyone to take another glance, and an overly large onyx stone that draped around her neck. Her hair was long, blonde, and curly and her eyes were dark brown. She appeared to bored as she listened to her guards squabble. Luna brightly displayed her aura, which only people of magic can see, and boldly walked closer to the front of the room.

The woman glanced up alarmed and irritated, "And who might you be?"

"Just a villager," Luna looked around the room, "Nice place you've got here."

"Are you an idiot?" The witch snorted.

"Maybe," Luna shrugged and pointed at a pillar, "Is this marble? This is a nice piece of work."

"Why are you here?" Witch sat upright on her throne and leaned closer to Luna.

"Oh, no particular reason," Luna answered and gazed down at her nails, "Just trying to see what you know about the Harvest Goddess."

"Why do you want to know about her?" Witch's hands gripped the ends of the arms of the chair.

"Just curious." Luna smirked and formed a fist.

"Well, have you ever heard of curiosity killing the cat?" She snapped, "Guards! Seize her!"

The guards circled Luna and pointed iron spears at her. Luna laughed, "Look princess," She crossed her arms and leaned to one side, "Have you ever heard of knowing your enemy before you strike? "

"Why should it matter?" The blonde laughed, "You're just a waste of my time."

Luna realized, "You can't see my aura, can you?"

"What?" Witch snapped.

_She's not an actual witch. _Luna closed her eyes and smiled widely, "I just learned something very vital today, princess, and it's all thanks to you." Luna filled the room with a black smoke to blur the vision of the guards in the room. Luna dropped to the ground as everyone coughed around her.

"Find... Her!" Witch coughed in between each word. While the guards scurried around to find Luna, she escaped out the door.

"What the hell went on in there?!" Artemis grew wide eyed as Luna emerged from the smoke filled room.

Luna coughed while she laughed and grabbed Artemis, which released his bound spell, "Illusion... gone wrong!" She coughed and raced through the fortress towards the nearest window.

"The stairs are in the other direction!" He tried to pull her back, but she pushed forward.

"No time for that!" Luna skidded to a halt and the window and looked down towards the ground. They were about fifty feet off the ground, "Perfect!"

"You really are mad!" Artemis leaned over the edge and stared at the bottom.

"And off you go!" Luna shoved him over the edge and she jumped after him. In midair, Luna created a cloud that was light enough to still float, but dense enough to carry them. Luna laughed once she landed in the cloud, "Have you ever traveled by cloud before?"

"You are one crazy, mad witch." Artemis rolled his eyes angered.

"Eh," Luna shrugged as she steered the cloud towards the village, "The madder the better."

* * *

**This chapter was written to "Alone" by Armin Van Buren ft. Lauren Evans and Luna's craziness in this chapter is inspired by "Bitch" by Meredith Brooks. Scipio had much influence on this chapter! Again, we hoped that you all enjoyed this and if you have time, please leave a review so we can know how we are doing. Thank you for reading!**


	9. Sprites of The Planets

**Here's chapter 9! Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 9: Sprites of the Planets

Luna woke up late the next morning and was a bit tired from the traveling. Looking up at the sun, Luna assumed that it was about ten. _I wonder how Mom is doing with the farming? _Luna smiled, _I'm sure that Dad is helping her. _Luna rose from her make-shift bed, some old linens and furs, and stretched with a yawn. Luna decided to call herself home at a broken down barn on the hill that could look out at the whole town. There was also the destroyed well and a barren patch of land on top of that hill.

Luna stayed up late yesterday and made sure that she prepared enough bread rolls and buckets of water for the villagers to eat for the day. _Only if I could get my hands on some produce and eggs. _Luna frowned, _Maybe I can go look for some seeds in the forest later today, but I think that the eggs are a bit of a stretch right now considering that I haven't seen any birds yet._

"Good morning Luna!" Uranus chirped, "Can we go see the Harvest Goddess today?!"

"Wait," Luna stopped him in shock, "You can actually go and see the Harvest Goddess?"

"Yeah!" Uranus smiled and explained, "She was frozen at the Goddess Springs."

"Uranus," Luna shuffled to her feet, "Do you think that there would be any seeds by the springs?" Luna dressed in the trousers and work shirt that she brought from home.

"I think," Uranus sat himself on Luna's shoulder and thought hard, "If I remember correctly, the Goddess Springs were the only place left fertile because the Goddess put a protection spell over that place long before people roamed this land."

"Wonderful!" Luna exclaimed. She quickly brushed her hand through her braids and pulled it back into a loose ponytail. Luna was more focused on finding the springs than braiding her hair. "Where is the Goddess Springs?"

"I can take you there." Uranus smiled and fluttered above Luna. Without a warning, Uranus poured some green sprite dust over Luna's head and within seconds, they arrived at the springs.

* * *

Uranus was correct, the Goddess Springs had been untouched by the Witch's harm. The only thing that was abnormal about the springs was the frozen statue towards the center of the springs.

"So this is the Goddess." Luna allowed herself to float over towards the Goddess with her magic.

"Yeah," Uranus touched the Goddess's cheek and frowned, "I hope that Gaia is okay."

"I'm sure that she is fine," Luna smiled and heard a beeping noise. Her clothes glowed slightly and Luna looked down in alarm. "What in the world...?"

"Luna... Luna... Can you see us?" Her father's voice called out to her.

"Dad?" Luna gasped and she tore a small piece of her shirt. "Hold on, I'm getting the spell ready!"

"What is happening?!" Uranus cowered, "Why are your clothes glowing?!"

"It's a communication spell," Luna smiled and quickly worked at the clothing. She used her magic to enlarge the cloth so that she could see her father's face. "Hey dad!" Luna waved at the face.

Gale, Anna, and Charles were at the other end of the spell in Castanet. Luna could tell that they were in their home and sitting at the dining room table.

"Hi sweetie!" Anna waved happily with her usual carefree smile.

"Hi mom! How long has it been for you all since I left?" Luna grew curious.

"Just over an hour." Charles smiled with a nod, "Where are you child?" He noticed that she was floating above the Goddess Springs.

"It's a long story." Luna did not want to explain the whole situation, "But let's just say I am at the Goddess Springs of Waffle Island and I am trying to figure out how to thaw the Goddess."

"I already told you how though." Uranus interrupted.

"Who is that...?" Gale asked and saw the Harvest Sprite.

"This is Uranus, and he is one of the eight Harvest Sprites of this land." Luna remembered, "Which reminds me, what do you know about a prophecy?"

Luna could see her father freeze up and Anna answered for him, "How did this come up, sweetie?"

"Uranus said that he met someone in the past right around when I was born." Luna explained, "And I think it was Dad."

"I..." Gale coughed, "That was a prophecy that I thought was for your mother... But with time... Found out that it was you..."

"Well, Uranus found me, but the prophecy says that I am suppose to save a guy." Luna pointed to the frozen Goddess, "That is a chick."

"Luna!" Anna scowled, "Mind your manners!"

"She can't hear me," Luna argued.

"You still should be thoughtful," Charles added, "Especially in the presence of a Goddess."

"Luna..." Gale continued, "I don't know anything else about the Goddess... Or the prophecy... But what are all of the sprites named after the planets?"

"Yeah," Luna nodded, "Except for Earth, that one is the Goddess herself."

"Understood." He nodded and placed his hand to his chin, "Give me some time to research this matter..."

"I have already assumed that Jupiter will come from a storm since he controls the sky and lightning." Luna told her father what she knew from Uranus.

"Yes... Good thinking..." He left the table and disappeared from Luna's view.

"Have you made any friends?" Anna smiled and asked her daughter.

"Within the few days that I have been here," Luna laughed, "I have made a huge enemy and met a few skeptics."

"Who is giving you trouble?" Charles worried.

"Two people actually, but one is just an annoyance." Luna explained, "There is a witch here that somehow she had cast a spell on the Goddess and froze her, but listen to this, she's not actually a witch."

"What do you mean?" Anna asked confused.

"I showed my aura and she could not even tell that I was a witch." Luna sighed, "How is that even possible?"

"What was she wearing Luna?" Charles grew curious.

"All black and she had this huge onyx gemstone around her neck."

"A magic stone." Charles frowned and crossed his arms with a sigh.

"A what?" Luna asked.

"A magic stone," Charles explained, "The name is self explanatory, but that is where she is drawing her power from." He tsk-ed, "And those are a fickle to destroy because magic can't destroy them."

"Just like her fortress." Luna thought aside and then asked, "How do I destroy it?"

"I have only heard this from stories, but the way to destroy it is through a sword made by the strongest ore." Charles shook his head, "But what stone that is, I have no idea."

"It could be the goddess ore." Anna added into the conversation, "Owen once told me that goddess ore is the rarest and strongest of all ores." She changed the topic, "Who is the other person?"

"I'll try that." Luna nodded, "And the other person is just this weird creep."

"Who is it, child?" Charles asked.

"His name is Artemis." Luna said disgusted, "He hunts and shows up at the most random of times."

"Like the goddess of the hunt?" Anna smiled at her knowledge, "Try giving him silver arrows next time that he causes you trouble."

"How come?" Luna intrigued.

"In mythology, it says that Artemis is the goddess of the hunt and the moon. She is also the protector of the young and animals, especially deer, are sacred to her. Her choice of weapon is a bow with silver arrows."

_The goddess of the moon... _Luna thought about his eyes and how light they were in the dark.

"We have to go now sweetie," Anna smiled, "We will check in soon though, okay?"

"Alright mom." Luna said her goodbyes and the magic receded from the cloth. Luna looked back up at the goddess and circled her several times. Luna hoped that by staring at the Harvest Goddess the answer of how to unfreeze her would pop out; however that was not the case, but after the third time of circling the Goddess Luna noticed something odd.

"She's smiling." Luna crossed stopped circling her, "Like she knew that this was going to happen."

"She always smiled." Uranus dismissed Luna's theory.

"If I saw my attacker head on," Luna stood back and pointed two fingers at the goddess, "I would be in fear."

"Maybe she didn't see her." Uranus shrugged.

"Even so," Luna floated behind her and put her fingers up again, "You would still feel the impact of the spell." Luna placed her hand to her chin and thought aloud, "That is probably how she was able to send my father that message, and from the sound of it, she has sent that message to him long before I was born."

"Once we find my family, we can give her enough magic to reverse the spell." Uranus pulled on Luna's arm, "Let's start searching them!"

"But none of this explains why me." Luna ignored him and frowned, "If I am not here to save her, who is this "him" that I am suppose to save?"

"I don't have the answer to that." Uranus apologized, "But I bet one of my siblings might!" He cheered up.

Luna sighed, unsatisfied, but obliged to Uranus's wishes, "Alright, where do we start?"

"That lady in the cloth said something about goddess ore and I know that Pluto loves hanging out in the mines." Uranus recalled some valuable information.

Luna landed back safely on the ground and placed Uranus on her shoulder, "Then to the mines we shall go!"

"Do you even have a hammer, Luna?" Uranus asked as Luna searched the ground for any type of seed.

"Oh yeah." Luna stopped, bent over, and picked up some berries. Luna hoped that she would be able to extract some sort of seed from the fruit, "I guess that would be a necessity." She straightened up, pocketed the seeds, and walked again with a bounce in her step, "Then to the blacksmith's we shall go!"

* * *

**Sadly, this chapter did not have an inspiration song, but if any of you can think of one! We'll add it to the list! We hope that you enjoyed reading chapter 9 and if you have the time, please leave a review! Thank you!**


	10. One, Two, Three, CLINK!

Chapter 10: One, two, three, CLINK!

Luna arrived back into the village and searched for the blacksmith's shop. She had picked up a pouch of gold coins in hope that it would be enough to pay for a hammer. What Luna did not realize was that she had already been in the blacksmith's shop and had already met the blacksmith until she stopped in front of Roy's shop.

_And if my luck couldn't have gotten any better... _Luna groaned and it took much effort to open that sturdy entrance door. Luna saw Roy hovering over a bucket and from the splashing sounds it sounded like he was washing his hands.

"We're closed." He grumbled. Luna rolled her eyes and tossed the pouch on the table. Some coins rolled onto the table and spun several times before they fell on the table. Roy barely turned his head, but once he saw who it was, he rotated his whole body to face her.

"What do you want?" He glared.

"I need a hammer." Luna answered with a nod towards the table, "If that is not enough then let me know."

"I don't need your alchemy." Roy saw the coins and refused to help her.

"Who said anything about alchemy?" Luna smiled and picked up one gold coin, "Look, these are coins from my village. I don't know if this village accepts these coins, but I am sure that you can make some use out of them."

Roy blew out a breath through his nostrils and walked towards the table. He picked up a coin a rubbed it in between his thumb and index finger. He questioned, "Why do you need a hammer?"

She placed her hands on the table and replied, "To mine, why else would I need a hammer?"

"For what?" He copied Luna's actions and interrogated her.

"I'm looking for goddess ore," Luna continued, "I need you to make me a sword."

"A sword made out of goddess ore?" Roy stepped back and seemed pleased, "That's a tall order there, witch."

Luna cringed when he called her that, "Look, if you need more money..."

"What would I do with some useless coins?" Roy interrupted her, "I'll give you a hammer, only if you bring me any ore that you find, including your goddess ore."

"I'll supply the fire for your hearth as well if you can make me two swords." Luna bargained.

"Why do you need two swords?" Roy raised his eyebrow.

She shrugged, "Just in case I break one."

Roy laughed heartily, "Ha! That is the dumbest thing I've heard all day!" He smirked, "Look, I'll make you two swords if and only if you can find that much goddess ore. It's rare, you know."

"Deal!" She held out her hand for them to shake on it, but Roy refused and walked around the table. Luna watched him head into a side room. He emerged minutes later with an iron hammer.

"Bring it back when you're done." Roy dropped it into Luna's hands and she nearly collapsed at it's weight.

_I forgot how heavy these things were... _Luna lifted the hammer using her legs to lift it.

''Too much for you, witchy?" He teased her.

Luna laughed sheepishly, "Heh heh... not all all." She gave a fake smile and waved goodbye to Roy.

* * *

_One, two, three... _Luna counted each smash of the hammer before she heard the now familiar _CLINK! _Sometimes the rock would take two smashes or four smashes before it broke down to ore, but on average it took three smashes before Luna was able to see the mysterious that was hidden inside the rock.

"Dang it..." Luna grumbled and shuffled through the rock debris. So far, Luna and Uranus had only been able to find plenty of junk ore, multiple copper ores, a few iron ores, and two silver ores.

"Try this one next!" Uranus landed on the next victim.

"You better move Uranus," Luna hulled the heavy hammer over her shoulder and put all of her weight into the first swing. _BASH! _ "You know," Luna huffed, "I am starting to remember why," _BASH! _"I hate mining..." _CLINK! _Luna lifted the hammer off of the rubble and shuffled through the broken pieces to find another silver ore. She whined, "This is going to take forever!" She placed the ore in her knapsack.

"Oh just put your back into it, Luna! You can do it!" Uranus cheered her on.

"You're not helping." Luna continued her grumbling and landed the heavy hammer on another rock which broke instantly. "Huh?" Luna tilted her head and lowered herself to the ground to see a small figure mixed within the rubble. "What's this?"

"Watch out!" Luna was shoved against the wall just before several rocks collapsed where she once stood.

"Ungh..." Luna gritted her teeth and shoved the person off of her. As she did so, she received an incredible smell of soaked minerals.

"Geez, is that how you always thank people?" The man voice sounded irritated.

"Only to the creepers, sweetheart." Luna chuckled. Luna knew it was Artemis because of his particular water smell. It was pure, fresh at times, and _Sure as hell annoying... _Luna thought disgusted.

"What are you doing down here in the mines?" He crossed his arms and relaxed his stance.

"Mining..." Luna answered curtly, "What else would I be doing in a mine?"

"Getting into mischief," Artemis raised his brow, "Why is a witch like you mining, when you can use alchemy?"

"I have other hobbies besides magic," She defended herself.

"Yeah because that makes perfect sense." He rolled his eyes not buying a word of Luna's defense.

"Look," She went straight to the point, "I need goddess ore for reasons of my own. Now, do you have any or no?" She pulled out the few silver ores that she pocketed earlier and said, "I'll trade you my silver ores for them."

"Why would I trade you goddess ore for silver?" He laughed, "That's an under trade in value."

Luna smiled wickedly, "But a little birdie told me that you like to hunt with silver arrows." She saw him tense up uncomfortably and she continued, "Now isn't that right?"

"Who told you?" His eyes narrowed and he tensed.

"My personal source," Luna trapped him, "Now hand over your goddess ores."

Artemis relaxed and laughed, "Uh... No..."

Luna pocketed the ores with a frown and turned her back to him, "Then stop wasting my time."

As Luna walked away from him Artemis yelled, "Here!" He tossed five ores at her heels, "I don't need them anyway."

"Now that," Luna turned and tipped an imaginary hat, "I will thank you for." She knelt down and saw in the corner of her eye Uranus wiggling out of the rubble with the smaller figure. Luna noticed a purple cap with sheer wings. _A Harvest Sprite!_

"I can show you where you can find more if you want." He offered.

"Ah, no," Luna refused and walked towards the rubble where Uranus and the other Harvest Sprite crawled out of, "That's just creepy."

"I'm not going to jump you!" He shook his head angered.

Luna waited for the sprites to crawl onto her shoe and cling to her sock before she moved backwards towards the exit, "I wasn't thinking that!" Luna came up with an excuse for leaving, "I have to plant some seeds that I found!"

"You farm too?" Artemis sounded like he had heard enough nonsense for the day.

"Duh." Luna snorted, "Of course I farm! Like I said, I _do_ have other hobbies!" Luna reached the exit and ran out of the mine.

Artemis smirked and ran his head through his hair, "Yeah, because that makes perfect sense."

* * *

Luna ran outside of the mine and panted, "You okay Uranus?"

"Yeah." He held a tiny baby sprite in his arms, "We found Pluto."

Luna looked down at the sprite dressed purple and question, "The sprite of the underworld is this tiny thing?"

"He maybe be in a form of a child, but he is far much older and wiser than me." Uranus carefully placed Pluto in a clean section of Luna's knapsack, "He's the brother of Jupiter and Neptune."

"I bet they will be happy to see him back." Luna walked slowly towards the village.

"I'm sure of it." Uranus floated up to Luna's shoulder, "Heading back to Roy's, I presume."

"Of course." Luna nodded and thought about the comforting sounds of the mines. _One, two, three... Clink!_

* * *

"Look who's back." Roy smirked and crossed his arms as soon as Luna entered the blacksmith's shop. He stood next to Heath with his back against a table. Heath sat in a chair at the table and his head was rested on the table when Luna entered, but when Roy spoke he sat straight up.

"Is this a bad time?" Luna asked unsure of the situation.

"It's fine." Heath sighed, "I was just about to leave anyway."

"You sure, man?" Roy frowned at his guest, "You can stay. The witch won't mind, right?"

Luna scrunched up at the word "witch" again, "Right."

Heath sighed again and sat back down. He rested his head back on the table. Roy walked over to Luna, "Got the goods?"

"Of course." Luna lifted her knapsack onto the blacksmithing table and poured out her various finds.

There were a total of twenty ores including the five goddess ores that Artemis gave her earlier. Luna watched Roy nitpick through the junk ores and tossed them over his shoulder. Luna could not see where he was tossing them too, but she assumed that it was a junk can. Roy then categorized the ores by their strength and quality; iron, copper, silver, gold, and goddess. Luna could see that she did not have any gold ore, but three extra silver ores (which she did not know she had), two iron ores, five copper ores, and five goddess ores.

"Nicely done, witch." Roy approved of her work, "I will get your order started right away."

"Hey," Luna asked, "Can you make some silver arrows for me?"

"What for?" Roy asked curiously this time and not in suspicion.

"For..." Luna did not want to say his name, but she was unsure of what to call him. He was not a friend of hers nor did she particularly like him, but he did help her, twice, and she knew that she should thank him somehow. She spoke once she thought of a name to call him, "A benefactor."

Roy laughed, "In debt already?" He nodded towards the pit, "Get this fire started, witch. I'm going to grab my tools from the back."

"How long will it take?" Luna asked and pointed to the pit which ignited instantly.

"Can't say." Roy shrugged, "It's been a while since I crafted anything. I'm going to practice on the junk ore first to see if I still have my touch. Then, I will start your sword."

"Alright," Luna smiled at his response, "It's no rush." She added, "Do you need more ore?"

"Whenever you go back to the mine, sure, grab some. Otherwise, this should be plenty." Roy walked through a door in the back of the shop where he kept his tools.

"You okay?" Luna turned her attention towards Heath.

"What?" Heath startled.

"Are you okay?" Luna leaned against the blacksmith's table and looked at him. Luna noticed that Heath and Dakota were the only two villagers that still seemed lifeless, even after a few good meals and plenty of drink, supplied by Luna.

"Yeah..." He sighed a lie.

"How's Dakota?" Luna asked a bit concern. I should go visit her tomorrow.

"She's... okay..." Heath gave a weak smile and Luna could see distress and sorrow written in his expression.

"Have you two been eating properly?" Luna saw him nod a yes, "Is she sick?"

"No," He shook his head, "It's nothing like that."

"You're nervous?"

Heath sighed, "Yeah..." He leaned back in his chair and placed his hands in his lap, "I guess, I just don't want to see my child, or any child, grow up in a world like this."

Luna felt the sadness in his words, "I'm sorry, Heath." Luna was at a lost for words. I want to tell him something positive, but I don't want to make a promise that I can't keep.

"It's alright," Heath sighed again, "You're doing your best."

Luna thought silently for a moment about what she can do to make him smile, "Do you like to farm?"

He shrugged.

"Well, I was planning to farm tomorrow, and I am going to need some help." Luna saw that he was now looking at her, "Will you help me?"

Heath was able to produce a genuine smile as he said, "Yeah, I'll help, and maybe I can see if Dakota would like to sit out and enjoy the sun."

"Good idea." Luna smiled because she could see the happiness radiating off of his smile, "I am going to find some more seeds tonight. Can you meet me tomorrow at sunrise?"

"Of course." Heath agreed.

Luna knew that it was her time to leave, so she waved goodbye to Heath and walked out the door of the blacksmith's shop.

* * *

**This chapter was written to "Chandelier" by Sia and "Vuelie (feat. Cantus)" composed by Christophe Beck and Frode Fjellheim (from the Frozen soundtrack). Also, my schedule has been getting very hectic! I have not forgotten about you all, but the updates will be coming in at a slower rate. Please continue to read and thank you to all that do read and review this fanfic!**


	11. Nature's Bounty

Chapter 11: Nature's Bounty

Luna woke up with a headache at approximately one hour before sunrise. She had a strange dream where she was engulfed by a typhoon. _Stupid dream..._ She yawned, _I don't even remember anything else about it either... _

"Good morning!" Uranus exclaimed.

"G'morning," Luna mumbled and rubbed her head, _Damn headache... _

"I found some abandoned chicken eggs today!" Uranus pulled one out of his cap, "But I could only bring back one."

"That's okay," Luna rubbed his tiny head and tried to smile, "I'm sure it will be delicious no matter what." Luna quickly dressed herself in a cotton shirt and capris.

"Yup!" He nodded and handed Luna the egg. She did not want to use more magic than she had too because she was going to be using plenty later on in the day, so Luna jumped down from the attic of the barn and shuffled through the hay.

"Where did you even find this egg?" Luna shouted to Uranus.

"In the forest." He responded with his own question, "What are you looking for?"

"A flat..." Luna hit something with her fingers, "Ah ha! Here it is!" She picked up a flat river stone.

"A flat ah ha?" Uranus was confused.

Luna laughed lightly and pinched his left cheek, "You're so silly, and I was looking for a stone." Luna walked outside of the barn and looked around for the well.

_I know it's here somewhere._ Luna squinted in the dark, and hoped that squinting would make her see better, and looked far out on the land. The hill that the barn sat on flattened out east of where the barn stood and then declined west of the barn. Luna could see the barren land for farming just thirty feet away from the barn and past the field she saw the destroyed well.

_I really need to fix that._ Luna relaxed her eyes and jogged towards the well. She ran through the field and with each step she realized that the land was dry, yet it was soft and had some fertile qualities to it. _Odd... _Luna thought as she reached the well. She gathered some of the stones and arranged them in a circle with three layers. The circle grew smaller and smaller with each layer so that Luna could place the stone on top of the pit.

"Whatcha doing?" Uranus peeked over Luna's shoulder.

"Cooking breakfast." Luna ignited the bottom of the circle and waited for the stone to heat up before she cracked the egg on the stone. Luna threw the eggshells in the flame and she watched the egg sizzle and pop over the heat.

"I like my eggs over medium." Uranus suggested, "And we need to save some for Pluto."

Luna facepalmed herself, "Oh my gosh! I completely forgot about him! How is he doing?"

"While you were looking for seeds last night, he woke up for a short time, and then he fell back to sleep." Uranus fluttered over to a stick on the ground and lifted it, "Here you go Luna, use this for the egg!"

She took stick and divided the egg into three equal sections, "That should be enough for all of us."

Once the egg was cooked to perfection, Luna carefully removed the hot stone off of the pit and returned to the farm after she doused the fire with a small amount of magic.

"This looks delicious!" Uranus licked his lips, "I'll go wake up Pluto!" Uranus flew off.

"Luna?" A shy voice spoke from behind Luna.

Luna turned and saw Cam. He hid behind one of the broken barn doors. "Good morning!" Luna remembered that she had asked Heath to gather people so they could farm. "Are you my only helper today?"

Cam shook his head, "Mama and Papa are outside already and Mr. Heath is there too, with Mrs. Dakota.

_Five people,_ Luna counted, _not too shabby._ She rolled up her sleeves and patted Cam on his back, "We better get started then." When Luna felt Cam's back, she could still feel his fragile bones. _I completely forgot how fragile he still is..._ Luna squinted and looked out at her small crowd of helpers, _How fragile they all are... _Their bodies appeared thinner in the rising sun.

"Where shall we start?" Angie asked.

Luna walked past her and lowered her gaze to the ground. She was looking for a soft patch in the dirt so they could begin to sow. Luna remembered and mumbled, "Crap.." she spoke up to the group, "Did anyone happen to bring any type of farming equipment?" Luna saw the group shake their head no. They had come empty handed, which Luna expected because she did not instruct Heath to bring farming equipment. Luna jogged, "Let me see if this barn has anything."

She jogged into the barn and looked all around. For anything that resembled a hoe, a sickle, or a watering can. The necessary equipment would be the hoe so that they can till the soil, a watering can would be nice, even though Luna would not mind watering the flowers with her magic, and the sickle would be useful later on if any weeds or tall grass sprouted from the seeds that she collected the previous night. Luna paid most of her attention to the walls.

"Drat..." Luna frowned and turned back around to the group, "Give me a minute, I need to create some equipment." She then grabbed a few pieces of hay that was on the ground and bundled it together. _I need a hoe the most right now, and hopefully later, Roy can smith some equipment for them to use in the future._ With the tool in mind, Luna closed her eyes and materialized what a gardening hoe looked like it her head. _A wooden shaft to hold, and a metal blade to sow. _Luna rhymed the spell and opened her eyes to see the results.

"You really are full of surprises, you know." Matt smiled and patted Luna's shoulder. Luna handed him the hoe and proceeded to make another one for Heath. Once the task was completed, they could officially begin gardening.

"Now," Luna explained once in the field, "To garden you need to..."

Angie laughed and said, "We know how to garden, dear. Our land wasn't always like this." Angie followed closely behind Matt and Cam behind Heath as they tilled the soil; and they would drop the seeds into the ground, cover them up with dirt, and move on to the next area.

"Well," Luna crossed her arms with a pleased smile, "That was easier than I thought."

"Luna..." Uranus sat on her shoulder with Pluto in his arms, "Pluto told me that Saturn should be here."

"What?" Luna gasped a little loudly. She quieted down, "What do you mean that he should be here?"

"Saturn is the sprite of agriculture," Uranus paused and leaned his ear by Pluto's mouth and listened to what baby had to say before he continued, "He is also the sprite of wealth and time."

Luna grasped her thumb and index finger around her chin and thought, "Nature's Bounty..."

"What?" Uranus confused.

"Nature's Bounty, " Luna explained, "Is the product of agriculture and with that product it takes time to grow and the result, if the product is sold, is wealth."

"So," Uranus thought, "We should wait until the product is grown?"

"We can," Luna shrugged, "but he might be in the fields now."

Pluto squirmed and cried in Uranus's arms, and Uranus asked over his cry, "Do you want us to look for him?"

Luna felt sorry for the green colored sprite, "If you don't mind. I'll keep an eye out as well."

"Just..." Uranus sighed,"Be careful, Saturn is kind of well," He was at a lost for words, "Old..."

"Don't worry about it," Luna said and watched Uranus fly off with Pluto.

Luna decided that it would be best to check the areas where the seeds have been planted. She whistled a tune and aimlessly kicked the dirt as if she was checking the seeds and not looking for a Harvest Sprite. There was no sprite in the first row, nor the second, nor the third. _Geez, how many seeds did I give them? _Luna thought a bit surprised on how many rows of seeds the group had planted.

"We're ready for the water, Luna." the same small voice from earlier tugged on Luna's sleeve.

"Of course!" Luna jumped, a bit startled by Cam's voice. She had forgotten for a short while that there were people with her in the field. Luna felt a strong pull on her wrists and feet. She felt as if she was not in control of her own body anymore. She asked, "Where should I start?"

"Over there, Luna." Cam pointed at the first row and Luna lost control.

_What's going on?!_ Luna freaked out as her body acted on it's own. She did not even think or even have to mentally recite the water spell before spurts of water gushed out of her fingertips. She tried to redirect the fountain of water, but her hands were stuck on that first row.

"Don't you think that's a little much, Luna?" Cam questioned.

"Yeah..." Luna faked a laugh and watched her hands uncontrollably stop the water works, "Where now, Cam?"

"Row two, three, and four," Cam pointed in the direction and in the order that he wanted her to water, "Just try not to overwater them like you did the first row."

"Yeah, haha." Luna continued her fake laughter and smile, _What the hell is going on with me?!_ Her body reacted without Luna thinking and quickly rushed over to the next three rows. It was not long until Cam yelled out to Luna, "You know you can stop now!"

Luna's hands stopped watering the flowers and she sighed with relief, _Thank Goddess..._

"Oi oi oi..." An older man coughed.

_Not now... _Luna whined internally because she knew that was the Harvest Sprite. She yelled back at Cam who was now joined with the adults, "That's everything for today! Thanks for helping!"

Heath jogged over to Dakota to help her off of the ground and the Matt, Angie, and Cam went on their merry way. Luna had forgotten that Dakota was there because she was quiet the whole time. Luna approached her, "How are you feeling, Dakota?"

"Pretty well," She smiled. The way Dakota smiled reminded Luna of her mother, "It's nice to be out today."

"The weather is goregous!" Heath added and breathed deeply.

"It is," Luna agreed and caught a glimpse of a yellow Harvest Sprite crawling up Dakota's leg, "Uh..." Luna stammered and reacted to the Harvest Sprite by slapping it away from Dakota's leg.

"What was that?" Dakota questioned.

"I thought I saw a spider," Luna shrugged, "I guess not, sorry about that."

"No, thank you," She squirmed uncomfortably, "I hate spiders!" Heath nodded a thanks as well and then they both headed back towards the village.

Once out of sight, Luna found the Harvest Sprite and pinched him by his wings, "You filthy little bastard..."

"Oi, you can see me?" The sprite asked.

"Yes, Saturn," Luna growled, "and I saw exactly what you were trying to do, you perverted old sprite."

"Oh!" Uranus fluttered back with Pluto, "You found Saturn!"

"Yeah..." She grumbled and flicked him back in the ground, "And I'm disgusted with this sprite already."

"Despite his tendencies," Uranus glared at the grounded sprite, "He's very knowledgeable."

"Wonderful." Luna rolled her eyes and turned towards the barn, "I think I am going to call my parents before we head into town."

"Why are we heading into town?" Uranus asked and floated down on Luna's shoulder.

"I want to see if my sword is done." She patted the sprite's head and entered the barn.

* * *

**Yay! Chapter 11! So, what did you all think? Please leave a review for any comments or concerns! Also, thank you all again for being patient with us. School is our top priority and I would like to thank ScipioPB for reviewing even though she is co-writing this!**


	12. The Heart

Chapter 12: The Heart

Charles stayed the night in Castanet with his niece and adopted son. He needed to speak to the two of them about the school, but ever since Luna's call, he had not been successful in that conversation. Charles was currently sitting with Gale in at his house in Harmonica Town and they were searching for books on Greek mythology. Gale had found three books and he read two of them from cover to cover; he was currently reading through the third book.

"Things have never been the same since my execution date," Charles started the conversation. He knew that Gale would not respond, so he continued, "The school is heavily guarded now and more children are entering the facility."

"Why are you... so distressed though...?" Gale muttered into the book.

"I am getting older Gale, and eventually, I will pass." Charles sighed, "I want to enjoy the rest of my life before that happens."

"You want to... retire?" Gale looked up from the book a bit alarmed.

"Yes, but there are a few things that I must finish before I do." Charles gave a soft smile and thought about the happier times at the school.

"Will you continue to be a headmaster?" Gale noticed the stress that wore on his former master's facial features and the whites in his hairs.

"No," Charles began, but then was cut off by Anna.

"Gale!" Anna rushed through the portal and held a cloth, "It's Luna!"

"Did you mark down the time and day?" Gale asked without looking at the cloth.

"Of course," Anna rolled her eyes, "Now, talk to your daughter!"

Gale sat the book down and walked past the table to Anna. He took the communication cloth from her hands and spoke, "Hello Luna..."

"Hey dad!" Luna chimed, "Have you found anything out about the Harvest Sprites?"

"Which ones have you found...?" Gale walked back over to his spot at the table and sipped on his coffee.

"Uranus, Pluto, and Saturn," Luna glared down and made a kicking sound, "who is soon going to be a dead sprite."

"Neptune is the god of seas and horses," Gale wasted no time in explaining his research, "you were correct about Jupiter, he is the god of lightning and sky... so expect him during a thunderstorm... and Mercury is the god of trickery and luck."

"Is that all you have for now?" Luna took note of his research.

"Afraid so..." Gale frowned.

"Thanks dad!" Luna smiled happily, "That'll help alot! Oh! Mom," She called out to her mother, "I found some goddess ores and the blacksmith here is going to make me a sword!"

"That's wonderful, sweetheart." Anna said, "How's the boy problem?"

_Boy problem...?_ Gale raised his brow at Anna.

"I haven't seen him today yet, thankfully, but he keeps popping up at the most random moments." Luna rolled her eyes and sounded a bit agitated by the thought.

"Give him the arrows like I told you, and he will be head over heels for you in a heartbeat." Anna smiled innocently.

"Mom!"

"Anna!" Gale and Luna both yelled at the same time and Charles laughed in the background.

"What?" Anna kept her innocent nature, "I am just helping you out, Luna."

"Mom, I don't even know if I can trust him!" Luna screamed through the cloth.

"Have you tried reading his heart?" Gale asked his daughter.

"Oh yeah," Luna blinked, "I forgot that you taught me that spell."

"Use it on him... And then follow your heart..." Gale advised her.

"Thanks dad," Luna smiled happily, "You're the best." Luna looked over her shoulder, "I hate to cut you off, but I have to go. Pluto is getting fussy."

"Talk to you soon, Luna," Anna cut the communication spell and raised her brow, "What spell did you teach her?"

"An old one," Gale gave her the cloth back and sat down again, "As you were saying, Charles?"

"Oh!" Anna jumped, "Hi uncle!" She ran over to hug him, "I thought that you left last night!"

"There is some matter to discuss with the both of you," Charles nodded, "and besides, Yolanda's food at the inn is very comforting."

"What does that mean?!" Anna gasped and placed her hands on her hips.

"Charles, please..." Gale stopped the argument before it progressed.

"Ah yes," Charles cleared his throat and continued his conversation from earlier, "As I have already mentioned, I will be retiring and leaving my position as headmaster, and I would like for you, Gale, to take my place."

Gale's dropped the book he was reading, "What?"

"There must be a new headmaster before I leave my position, and I will teach you everything that I know before I leave."

Anna exclaimed, "What an honor, Gale!" She kissed his cheek.

"There's more," Charles continued, "Anna, I want you to become to headmaster of earth."

"Me?" Anna blinked a bit surprised.

"All of the headmasters are leaving, to be frank with you, and it is my duty to find the replacements." Charles asked, "Will you two accept these positions?"

"Charles..." Gale curious, "Why me?"

"Because," He smiled at Gale, "There is no one else that I would want to have as my replacement."

"But... My past..." Gale stammered because he was shocked.

"The past is in the past," Charles placed on hand on both of their shoulders, "and the future is up to the both of you."

"Who are the other headmasters?" Anna pried.

"I plan to ask Vivi to be the headmaster of wind, and if it is alright with you two, I was going to ask Luna to be the headmaster of fire."

"No." Gale answered quickly.

"Gale!" Anna glared, "You know that she would love to be trained under Rafael!"

Gale glared at her, "She does not need to get into this..."

Charles coughed awkwardly, "I will leave you two to discuss this." He scooted himself out of the chair, "I will be at the inn waiting for your decision."

"Gale, Luna is not a child anymore." Anna argued.

"She does not need to get into the politics of that school." Gale flipped through the mythology book again.

"What are you so afraid of, Gale?" Anna frustrated, "You can't keep her hidden forever!"

"I'm not..." Gale never raised his voice, "Just... Give me a day to think through all of this..."

Anna was still flustered, but she was satisfied with his response, "You have one day to think figure your thoughts out, and I expect a yes by tomorrow, Gale." She stormed out of the door.

Gale rolled his eyes and thought, _Women..._

After their argument, Gale lost interest in researching so he got up from his seat and paced around his house. The table that was used for researching was formerly used as his fortune telling table before he married Anna. That time in Castanet was peaceful; no confusion, no worries, and no concerns. Gale's life was orderly and had structure, but once Anna found him again, everything had been flipped upside down and tossed out of a window. He was happy to have Anna back in his life, but he never expected to be where he was today.

_Headmaster of heart... _Gale liked the ring of it, and the title did suit him. When he read fortunes for the townspeople, he would read into their hearts and found out what made them happy. His past had been dark and dismal and he did not the purest of hearts. Could he really let that go and mold a future? Gale had always wanted to let it go, but events kept popping up into his life that kept reminding him to look back. Could Charles help him let everything go and start a new? Could he slowly purify his heart?

_What about Luna though? _Gale's thoughts returned to his daughter. He did not want to put her life in danger, if the past repeated itself, and as he had already said, he did not want to involve her with the politics of that school. After teaching for a few years himself and mentoring his own daughter, he did not approve of the way things were turning out. With him in charge of the school, he could mend some of the tears that occurred in the system, but it would never be the same.

_There I go again..._ Gale was angry at himself. He sat back in his seat, placed his palms to his forehead and his elbows on his knees. He sighed deeply and thought hard about his decisions. _If I do take that position... I would never be able to return to Castanet... And I know that Anna will agree with her uncle.. What would Luna do? What would Anna do?_ Gale opened his eyes, for he did not notice that he closed them, and realized, "Anna would want Luna... To be the next headmaster..." Gale smiled when he came to the conclusion, "Because we'll be together again..." Once decided, he left the table and went to tell Charles his decision.


	13. Taming The Beast

Chapter 13: Taming the Beast

Luna was too distracted from Pluto's fussiness and Saturn's preverted ways that she did not visit Roy after her phone call with her parents. She dropped into the village the next morning and saw Roy and Heath rebuilding a fence in front of Van and Vivian's house. Van, the village doctor, never set foot outside and Vivian was with Lucy and Michele. Luna offered her help with the fence.

"Nah," Roy gritted his teeth through a nail he held with his mouth, "We got it, kid."

Luna widened her eyes in shock, _That's the first time he hasn't called me witch._ She shook her head and questioned, "You sure?"

"Yeah, we got this." He nodded at Heath to hold the plank of wood steady. He hammered a nail into the wood. "By the way, your sword's ready."

"Great!" Luna exclaimed, "When should I pick it up?"

"Give me a half hour and I'll meet you at the shop." Roy rubbed the sweat off his brow.

Heath smiled at their progress and stayed quiet. Luna noticed the Heath was not an outspoken person and kept to himself, unlike his wife, Dakota, who, if she could, would be honest about everything.

"Luna!" Cam jumped up on her back and screamed with laughter.

"Hey you!" Luna gave a hearty laugh and grabbed under his knees so that Cam would not fall off of her back, "What have you been doing?"

"Nothing much," He admitted, "Will you play with me?"

"Why don't you go play with Michele?" Luna wanted to play with him, but she wanted to see her sword even more.

"She's with her mom and Mrs. Vivian playing dress up." Cam disgusted, "Why would I want to play with her?"

"Eh..." Luna shrugged, "I wouldn't want to either." She lowered him to the ground and watched him skipped in front of her, "What do you want to play?"

"Can you do a magic trick?" He begged, "Please Luna! Do a magic trick!"

Luna's body reacted unwillingly and it took most of her effort to contain herself when she said, "Okay, how about this one?" She showed her emptied palms to Cam and then closed them into a fist. She blew a cold breath onto them and smirked, "What do you think is in them?"

Cam shrugged, "I don't know."

"Look out!" someone screamed. Luna knew that distinctive voice and shot her head in the direction of the sound and she saw a raging horse racing towards them. Luna sprung into action, "Cam run!" Cam sprinted away from their current spot and Luna punched one fist out towards the horse. She released a ball of wind energy that held the erratic horse still, but she could feel that their was a more powerful force controlling the horse and she knew that her magic would not last for long.

"Thank Goddess you're alright." Artemis ran to Luna's side and knelt beside her.

"Not for long," Luna grunted and watched as her hand twitched, "I won't be able to hold this for much longer."

"What do you mean?" He asked with concern and fear for Luna.

"There is a spell on this horse," Luna's feet slid a few inches backwards and she punched her other hand out to the horse with the same spell, "We have to calm it down."

"How do you suggest we do that?" He glared at the horse.

"I don't know..." Luna's arms ached from the strength of the magic surrounding the horse, "Just get it to settle down and I can break the spell." From the corner of Luna's eye, she saw Artemis reached behind his back into his quiver and pulled out a silver arrow, "What are you doing?! Don't shoot it!" Luna was pushed back further into the fence that Heath and Roy were once working on.

"I don't plan too." Artemis prepared his bow and stepped on the fence.

He climbed to the top of the fence and Luna snapped, "What the hell are you doing?!" Her right hand gave away first. She lowered it to her side painfully and held her left hand

"Can't you see it?" He pulled back the string of his bow tightly, "There's a faint thread attached around it's neck."

Luna squinted her eyes and searched frantically for the thread, "I don't see it!"

"Then move!" Artemis snapped and held his bow firmly.

_Please don't let him get hurt,_ Luna prayed silently and then she released the spell. Luna rolled out of the way and watched the horse charge head on at Artemis. She was amazed on how unfazed he was as the horse appraoched him at an alarming speed. Artemis patiently waited until the perfect moment and once that moment arrived, he let go of the arrow.

The arrow whizzed through the sky and just before it hit its mark, Luna saw the very faint black thread. Upon impact, that thread exploded and sent tiny sparks of fire flying through the sky.

"Like a firecracker," Artemis smirked and pleased with his shot.

"How..." Luna gaped. "Did you see it?" Artemis hopped off of the fence and casually walked to Luna. He held out his hand for her to grab.

To her surprise, Luna took his hand and let him pull herself up, "How were you able to see it?"

"This isn't the first time the witch has used things to to her biding." Artemis answered, "She will use anything to cause chaos."

Luna watched the horse's movement as she approaced it. The horse seemed to return to normal, but Luna felt uneasy about it. She could still sense a weak magical aura surrounding the animal, and Artemis noticed her weariness.

"It should be normal now," Artemis rested his hand on Luna's shoulder. Luna ignored him and continued to approach it with weariness and care.

Once she was close enough, Luna gently patted the horse's mane and neck. "Hey you, are you alright?" She talked to it and comforted it.

The horse responded with a nicker.

"Good boy," Luna smiled and continued to pat its neck.

"Are you seriously talking to it?" Artemis raised his brow.

"Of course!" Luna defended herself and then returned to the horse, "You know what, you remind me of someone..." She concluded her sentence silently, _someone as in a Harvest Sprite. _

The horse blinked once and rubbed his head gently against Luna's.

She laughed and continued silently, _It's nice to meet you too, Neptune._ Luna could feel Artemis hovering over her shoulder so she added, "I'm going to call you Neptune."

"You're naming it Neptune? " He scoffed, "The god of horses and seas?"

"Of course!" Luna hugged Neptune's neck, "His coat even looks like the sea!"

Neptune's coat was white with speckles of blue gray spots along his spine. His hooves were dark gray, his hair was the a lighter shade then his hooves, and his eyes shimmered with mystic charm. He was a beautiful horse.

"Whatever suit you, I guess," Artemis awakardly rubbed the back of his neck. "What do you mean?" Luna gave him a confused look.

"Nothing." He shook his head and rubbed Neptune's ear, "You're planning to confront the witch again?" His command sounded more like a question.

"Yeah," She left Neptune's side and walked towards the blacksmith's shop, "Which reminds me..." She did not complete her thought before she entered the shop.

"I've got your sword right here, kid!" Roy tapped the sheath of the sword on the blacksmithing table, "Let me get your arrows."

He left just as Artemis entered. "A sword?" He asked.

"A sword made with goddess ore." Luna pulled out the sword by its handle and awed at the craftsmanship, "It's beautiful!"

Artemis whistled and ran his hand along the blade, "She's a beauty alright."

"When did you get back?" Roy reentered with a set of silver arrows. He referred that question to Artemis.

"Just recently." Artemis answered honestly, "No luck though."

"It's alright, we still have some leftover hide from the last animal." Roy smacked his back loudly but in a friendly manner then he remembered Luna's order, "Here's a set of silver arrows for ya!" He smiled proudly.

"You seem to be in a better mood Roy," Artemis chuckled.

"Of course!" Roy grabbed Luna's shoulder and pulled her close to him, "This kid has gotten my business running again!" He then smacked her back and Luna grimaced upon impact.

"You're welcome..." Luna rubbed her shoulder.

"If you need anything, just holler," Roy waved good bye and returned outside.

"Silver arrows?" Artemis was suspicious.

"They're not mine." Luna winked.

Artemis blushed, "Then... Why do you need silver arrows?"

She brushed her shoulder against his as she walked past him and answered back, "Hurry up. I'm not a very patient woman."

She heard him grab the arrows and rush behind her, "Where are we going?"

"To the witch." Luna fastened her sheath along her waist, "And you know, you don't have to keep saving me all the time."

"Who else is going to save your smart ass?" Artemis snorted and raced ahead of Luna.

Luna's eyes widened at his remark and she growled, "You are so going to eat those words." Luna clenched her fists and soon regretted that decision. She glanced down at her hands, _What...?_ Luna panicked as she saw fresh red scars.

"Hurry up slow poke!" Artemis yelled back at Luna.

Luna ignored her wounds and pushed forward towards the woods.

"Why did you give me the arrows?" Artemis asked as soon as Luna caught up to him.

"Because..." Luna said breathlessly, "I have to tame the beast somehow..." She smirked and winked at him once again.

Artemis flushed red and stammered, "You... didn't have to..."

"Consider it as a thanks," Luna giggled, "You are so red right now."

"Hurry up, princess." Artemis sprinted ahead of her.

"That's new!" Luna laughed and jogged behind him, _He's kind of cute when he's caught off guard. Maybe, I will be able see more of that._

**This song was written to "Shatter Me" by Lindsey Stirling feat. Lzzy Hale and "Alone" by Armin Van Buuren feat. Lauren Evans and edited to "Heart Attack" by Demi Lovato.**


	14. Tricks and Games

Chapter 14: Tricks and Games

"Slow up!" Luna yelled out of breath. _Damn him... _

Artemis came to a halt on a boulder that was three times the size of him. Luna was not familiar of their location and path.

"I thought you were taking me to the witch." Luna stood at the base of the rock.

"We are," He answered and jumped down to her, "Can the princess not keep up?" He teased.

"Please..." Luna snorted and allowed her pride to take the best of her, "I'm just not familiar with this route."

"It's shorter than the route you took last time." He rolled his eyes, "This way, princess."

Luna growled, _I liked him better when he was embarrassed. _Luna watched Artemis slowly walk away from her. _He's not running anymore. How close are we to her castle?_

"Luna!"

She turned swiftly, but saw nothing behind her. "Hmmm..."

"You're falling behind princess!" Artemis taunted her.

Luna looked up at him and saw a devilish smile and two tempting icy eyes. _Why does he keep calling me that? _Luna shook her head and stepped forward.

"Luna!"

She gave a funny look at Artemis and yelled, "Stop calling my name!"

Artemis stopped and looked confused, "I never called your name." He laughed, "You're hearing things."

"Luna!" That voice came from behind and as soon as she snapped her head around something smacked into her face.

"Ow!"

Artemis was immediately at her side, "You alright?"

Luna jumped back a bit surprised at his swiftness, "Yeah, just some bug ran into me." She rubbed her cheek with her hand.

Artemis grasped for Luna's hand and noticed her scars, "What happened?"

"I.. don't know. " She stammered. His grip is strong. She avoided his eyes and blushed, "Don't worry about it."

Artemis glanced at her other hand and saw more red scars. "It was from that horse, wasn't it?"

Luna tried pulling her hand out of his grip and growled, "Let go of me."

Artemis gave her hand one last squeeze and then released his grip. He sighed, "We're turning back."

"What!" Luna snapped. She poked his chest hard, "We are not turning back now!"

"You're not fighting the witch injured!" He snapped back.

Luna flinched, _That's the first time I've ever seen him lose his temper._

"Luna," He lowered his voice, "Go back."

She floated a few inches off of the ground in order to look at him straight in the eye, "Not even over my dead body are we heading back now."

He grabbed her waist and pinned her to the closest tree. She struggled but his grip was too strong. Luna's heart raced and his woodsy pine scent with his gorgeous blue eyes was not helping the situation.

"We came make arrangements then." He smirked and pulled a silver blade to her neck. His lips grazed her ear.

"You know," Luna chuckled with a smile, "When I first met you, I would have thought you would kill me in a heartbeat, but now, I know that you won't."

"You sure about that princess?" His breath on her neck was hotter than any flame that she has ever produced and it made her insides melt. She cleared her throat and tried to keep her strong stature. He pushed the blade harder against her neck and she noticed that it was dull.

Luna smirked a sly smile, "I know that you couldn't do it."

Artemis pulled away from Luna's ear and brushed his lips against her cheek. He growled deeply from the bottom of his throat and pushed off of Luna. With slight agitation, Artemis returned his blade to his sheath and turned, "Follow me."

Luna let out a breath that she did not realize that she was holding and sighed, but then face palmed herself, _What the hell am I doing?!_

"Luna?" a voice squeaked.

Luna looked down and saw a Harvest Sprite with a bluish gray cap and tunic. "Neptune!" Luna gasped and knelt down. She held out her palm for him to climb up on, "Did you follow me out here?"

Neptune nodded and looked down, "I'm sorry for running into you."

_So it was him... _"That's okay," Luna smiled , "Are you alright? Artemis nor I didn't hurt you, right?"

"I'm fine!" He smiled with a nod, but then he panicked, "But you guys won't be soon! The witch took Mercury and has set a trap close by here!" Luna's eyes widened and she thought, _I've got to tell Artemis!_ She skipped over fallen branches and jumped across stones in order to find her companion. She spotted him in a clearing and raced to him, "Stop! It's a trap!" The ground puddled and gurgled before it gave away from below Luna.

She screamed and watched Artemis yell out, "Luna!"

"Ungh..." Luna groaned and shifted her position on the ground below her. She lifted her body to a sitting position and she rubbed her head pained, "Where am I?"

"You okay, princess?'' Artemis grumbled painfully.

Luna noticed two things; one, she landed on top of Artemis, and two, her legs were stradled around his waist. Luna flared red and stumbled off of him, "I... I'm... f...fine!" She struggled, "Are you okay?!"

He gripped his side and it took him a few moments to sit up, "Yeah..." He smirked, "And I've never felt better."

Luna glared, "Pig." She smacked his chest.

"Look whose talking," He laughed, "You know, you're not the lightest princess ever."

"Stop calling me princess!" She yelled at him a bit flustered. Luna got on her feet and looked around, "Where are we?"

"I don't know." He answered honestly.

Luna examined the poorly fit room and found a stone tablet on a pedestal in the center of the room. She read, "Tricks and games is what I like to play, but just be warned you haven't got all day."

"What does that mean?" Artemis hovered over behind Luna.

_He makes me uncomfortable..._ Luna looked over her shoulder, "It means that the only way out of here is to play the game." Her eyes darted towards a drop of blood that slid down his face. She gasped, "You're bleeding!"

He touched his cheek and smeared the blood off, "It's nothing."

Luna hesitated a bit before she reached for his forehead. It was damp and warm, _That's definitely blood._ She gulped, _The quickest way to heal him is by giving him a breath of life, but that's like a kiss! I can't do that!_ Luna removed her hand from the wound and moved her face closer to his to get a better look, That's definitely not stopping anytime soon. Luna closed her eyes tightly and quickly said, "Please don't think anything of this." Before Artemis could respond, Luna raised her lips to his forehead and blew cold air onto his wound. Her father had drilled that spell into her head over and over again during her training to become a witch, so she knew the spell by heart.

Luna could feel Artemis freeze up, "W-why… did you do that?" He stuttered and blushed pink.

"Because…" Luna answered embarrassed and stumbled on what to say, "I…" She blushed when she thought _I care about you_, but what came out was, "It was the quickest way to heal you."

Artemis dropped his head and sighed, "Couldn't you have done it any other way?"

"But…" Luna started as Artemis walked past her. She did not bother finishing her sentence, _Did I hurt him?_ She groaned, "Artemis, wait up!"

His voice turned cold, "Hurry up, Luna."

Luna stopped and cursed at herself silently, _I really screwed that one up._ Luna's insides churned with guilt, _I thought that…_ It pained her to even think about the idea of him having feelings for her. _Why did he even lead me on?_ Luna closed her eyes and breathed deeply. _I just have to get out of this hole and then I can be free of him._ She opened her eyes and felt a tear slide down her cheek. Luna did not care if he saw as she walked past him, _I want him to know how much that hurt me._ "Let's go." Luna darted ahead of Artemis and she did not care if he followed her.

"Why the hell are you in tears?" Artemis caught up to Luna and pulled her back.

She slapped him and a fire sparked in her eyes, "Don't you dare touch me."

He let go of her and Luna could see that he was angered.

_Good... _She thought, _Let him be angry. Luna_ continued to walk ahead of him towards the first "game".


	15. Nursery Rhymes

Chapter 15: Nursery Rhymes

"Do you even know where we're going?" Artemis annoyed.

"Shut it." Luna growled. She was still upset with him and the fact that they were in a dark tunnel together further irritated her.

"You don't know, do you?" He stopped and crossed his arms behind her.

She pushed on and ignited a flame with her fingertip for a source of light. Her scars ached, but it was nothing compared to how she felt inside her heart. There was a flicker in the flame. Luna halted, "Did you feel that?"

"Feel what?" Artemis rolled his eyes, "Look Luna, let's just go back the way we came and…"

"Hello my friends." A woman cackled.

Luna shot her head up and gasped, "You!"

The witch appeared from a fog in the far wall and she laughed, "I didn't expect to catch two in my trap!" She stopped laughing and tapped her chin with her index finger, "The more the merrier I guess." The witch giggled and snapped her finger.

The ground shifted and rumbled below Luna's and Artemis's feet and a hill emerged from beneath him. At the bottom of the hill was an empty bucket and Luna and Artemis about a few feet away from each other.

"What the hell is this?" Artemis kicked the bucket while Luna thought hard about what the objects meant to them.

She recalled her father's information , _Mercury is the god of trickery and luck… _and Neptune's warning, _Mercury is being used by the witch! _With that knowledge, Luna concluded, "This is the game."

"What game?" Artemis inquired. He walked up the hill towards the well and he did not care for Luna's answer. Artemis glanced into the well and saw that it was dry, "What game, Luna?" He was impatient.

"What's in the well?" She asked curiously.

"Nothing." Artemis stumbled down the hill.

"You okay?" Luna did not believe that he that he intentionally fell nor did he trip.

"Yeah," He answered, "That was weird."

"Now," Luna focused and rubbed her temples on her forehead, "Why would there be a well, an empty bucket…"

"And how did I trip?" Artemis rubbed the back of his head.

"Why does this sound familiar…" Luna closed her eyes and once she thought of the answer, she snapped her fingers, "That's it!"

"What?" Artemis frowned.

Luna grabbed Artemis's arm and the empty bucket, "Jack and Jill went up the hill…" She drug him up the hill.

He snapped his wrist out of her grip, "What the hell Luna.."

She growled at him with a threatening tone, "Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water…" Luna pulled at his wrist again and Artemis pulled away again.

"Luna…" He sighed, "I don't understand what you're trying to say."

"It's a nursery rhyme!" She gave him a confused look, "Have you never heard of it before?"

He shook his head no.

"Well then," Luna smiled innocently and grabbed for his hand time. She squeezed lightly, "This rhyme goes like this; 'Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water, Jack fell down and broke his crown, and Jill came tumbling after'."

"That's it?" Artemis sounded unsure and Luna could see a blush beginning to form.

"Yup, that's it," She noticed his forehead, "Oh wait! I forgot!" Luna tapped her chin. A silver crown appeared on top of Artemis's head, "That's better…"

Artemis mumbled, "The crown I guess…" He took it off and examined it. Luna noticed that he was avoiding eye contact with her. Luna dropped his hand and pushed a stray hair behind her ear. Artemis walked up the hill without Luna.

_Why is there a tension between us? _Luna frowned, _Why am I aching inside?_

"Hey, Jill!" Artemis called and Luna looked up at him, "Coming to fetch this pail with me?"

Luna could see his charming smirk and a glitter in his clear blue eyes, which made her ache more. She regretted her decision of telling him about the rhyme and she unwillingly trudged up the hill. Once Luna approached the well, she half heartedly leaned over the edge and saw that there indeed was water in the well.

"I guess you were right," Artemis placed a hand on her lower back.

Luna flinched and pulled the bucket up from the well. She avoided his eyes, his mesmerizing eyes, and her heart wrenched to say something, "Fall down the hill.."

"What?" Artemis leaned his ear closer to Luna's lips. She could painstakingly smell a his damp pine scent. He always smelled like water to her.

"The nursery rhyme…" She cleared her throat, "...'Jack fell down and broke his crown...'."

"Right." He nodded and decided to "fall" down the hill by tumbling down the hill. He rolled down the hill with grace and landed on his back. The silver crown that Luna made him did not break so he took it off of his head and snapped it into two.

"Come on Jill." He smirked and laid on his side. His arm was propped underneath of him and he waited patiently for his "Jill".

Luna ran down the hill and met with Artemis, "How was the tumble?"

"Not finished," He laughed and tugged at her leg. Luna fell on top of him and he pulled her in close. One hand was on her lower back and the other was on her head. Luna could feel his lips nuzzle along her hairline.

"Wh...What are.. you doing?!" Luna stuttered and raised her voice.

He pulled away from her and did not answer, but instead, he placed the half broken crown on her head, "For you… princess.." Artemis took a strand of her silver strand and hungrily stared into Luna's dichromatic eyes.

Luna's cheeks flared red, she ripped off the crown, and jumped off of him. Her heart raced, _What is going on!? I thought… I thought..! _Luna ran into an invisible wall. "Oof!"

"You okay, princess?" Artemis snickered.

"Yeah.." She rubbed her forehead and saw one single, lit candle on the ground to her left. She thought hard about what rhyme would fit with the candle.

"You can't go around the candle can you?" He licked his index finger and thumb and tried to douze the flame, "Nor can you destroy the flame."

"Jack be nimble, jack be quick," He stared at Artemis with a smile, "Jack jump over the candle stick!"

"Okay…" Artemis was lost at what Luna was trying to say.

"Jack," She pointed at him, "jump over the candlestick."

"I ain't jumping that." He refused.

"Jack," Luna giggled and ignited a flame with her fingertip, "please be quick, please be nimble…" She gave him an evil look that frightened him, "And please, jump over that candlestick." She threw the flame at his feet.

Artemis jumped at the flame and yelled, "Luna!" The flame pushed Artemis closer and closer to the candlestick, "You know, Jack can be a girl's name too!"

Luna giggled devilishly, "But this is more fun, sweetheart."

Artemis jumped over the candle and the invisible walls turned opaque and shattered into dust. Luna covered her face and when she uncovered it she laughed at Artemis, "Oh my gosh! You look like a fairy!"

Indeed Artemis did look like a fairy. He was glittered covered from head to toe and he was not happy. "Shut it, princess."

"No! No!" Luna wiped a tear, "It's a good look for you!" Luna fell to the ground and almost died from laughing so hard.

"I preferred you better as the cute princess…" Artemis mumbled and walked ahead of Luna.

"What is that suppose to mean?!" Luna offended caught up to him quickly. He was stopped, "Hey! What's up?" Luna saw fear in Artemis's face and his eyes staring at something in front of them. Luna followed his eyes and saw what frightened him, "No…"

In front of Luna and Artemis was a child, and its cheeks covered in red violet bumps. Its eyes were glazed, its lips were swollen, its fingertips and toes were black.

"No…" Luna stuttered, "No…" _Mercury, this is a cruel joke! _She closed her eyes and thought silently.

To her surprise, Mercury responded, "I'm sorry Luna. It's all her doing, that evil witch."

_Is this the last one? _Luna prayed that this was the worst.

"Yes, I promise." Mercury landed on Luna's shoulder and whispered, "It's 'Ring Around The Rosie'. You know it, right?"

"Ring Around the Rosie…" Luna began sadly. Artemis looked at her, "Pocket full of posies," She choked on her tears, "Ashes… Ashes… we all fall down…"

"Well then," Artemis coughed uncomfortably and crossed his arms, "So, the child, we.. umm…"

"I am not killing that child." Luna fell to her knees and an overwhelming feeling of defeat washed over her, "I am not murdering it."

"You don't have too," Artemis smiled and patted her back, "Just create some ashes!"

"You don't understand…" Luna cried, "The children of the black plague were burned…"

He picked her up by her waist and stood close behind her, "Just burn the bumps on its cheeks."

"It doesn't work that way, sweetheart," Luna tried to smile with her sarcastic remark, but that only made her feel worse.

"Luna," He breathed warmly into the nape of her neck and it warmed her body, "I will be right here guiding you." He took her hands and placed them on the child's cheeks, he comforted Luna, "Use your flame spell and burn the bumps off." Artemis's chest pressed hard against her back, "Transfer the spell through my hands and I will tell you when to stop."

"I don't want to hurt you," Luna mumbled and blushed at the sudden heat of his body.

He placed his lips behind her ear and whispered, "You won't. Now, Luna, use that spell and burn the bumps to ashes."

Luna's body reacted again to the use of her name. She closed her eyes and panicked, _No! Please! Stop this! _The fire from her heart burned through her chest, along her arms, and pulsed through her palms. She could feel that Artemis adjusted his hands to be underneath of her's and she knew that he would take most of the burn.

"Everything is okay, Luna." Artemis soothed Luna's fears and he chuckled, "You can open your eyes, princess."

Luna opened her emerald eye first and saw the magic that pulsed through her palms was not a fiery red, but more of a soft purple. She opened her chocolate eye and saw that the child was not being harmed, but it was smiling. The child looked and reminded her too much of Cam.

"Alright Luna," She could hear Artemis's smile, "That's enough."

Luna's flames receded and the energy flowed back to her heart. Luna felt overwhelmed and a wave of relief washed over her. Artemis still held Luna and slowly dropped her to the floor as he whispered, "And we all fall down…"

**Written to "Shoots and Ladders" by KoRn.**


	16. An Act of Courage

Chapter 16: An Act of Courage

"My, my," The witch reappeared in front of Luna and Artemis and clapped her hands sarcastically, "Well done."

"What do you want?" Artemis glared with Luna in his arms and looked at the floating women.

Luna, exhausted from concentration, eyes grew wide and was speechless.

"To kill you, of course." She laughed and snapped her fingers. Three guards appeared, "Seize them."

"No!" Luna screamed and pulled out of Artemis' grip, "He has nothing to do with this!"

Artemis pulled out an arrow and shot at one of the guards. That guard turned to dust and another guard took his place. He fired several more arrows and they saw the same results. It did not take long for the witch's guards to surround them.

"Witch!" Luna rose to her feet, "Lower your guards. I'm the one you want."

She cackled, "On the contrary, my dear, I want both of you. Alive." She added the last word bitterly and disappeared once again.

One guard elbowed Artemis in the back of his head, which cause Artemis to black out. Luna flung herself on top of him and screamed, "Leave him alone!" Armored guards began punching and kicking Luna so hard that it was not long until she fainted herself.

* * *

"Hey! Hey, kid! Wake up kid!"

Luna heard the hollering of something and felt her face being poked at by a stick.

"Mmmm…" Luna mumbled, "Where... am I?"

"In the Witch's lair, kid." The something slapped her cheek. Luna knew that this something was small because she could feel its tiny hands.

"A Harvest Sprite?" She asked.

"The name's Mars, kid, now wake up!" Mars shoved Luna, "Your friend ain't looking too good."

"Artemis!" Luna shot up in response and tried to lunge forward. She was chained to a wall behind her and Artemis was across the room from her. He was still unconscious and Luna could not tell if he was breathing.

"Help me out of these chains, Mars!" Luna pulled and tugged on the chains. _I'm going to murder that women!_

"Working on it, kid!" He wiggled the stick in the keyhole, "Hey, Mercury! Help me out over here!"

Luna saw Mercury fly from Artemis' side over to help Mars with the chains. "Mercury!" Luna gasped, "Is he breathing?!"

"Faintly," Mercury answered and struggled with his lock.

Mars finished his lock before Mercury and immediately Luna reached out for her sword by her waist, but it was not there.

"Damn it!" Luna cursed and frantically shot her eyes around the room, "Where is it?" She found it outside of the jail cell and it was hung up next to Artemis' bow and quiver bag. Luna held out her hand and thought of the sword slipping through the cracks in the bars and into her hands.

"Can't use magic in here, kid." Mars moved to Mercury's lock.

"Get me my sword, Mercury!" She ordered him and waited for Mars to finish with the last lock. Mercury flew over the sword and struggled with the weight of it.

Once unchained, Luna ordered Mars to help Mercury, which he did swiftly. She scurried to Artemis' side and hugged him, "Come on, sweetheart, wake up, please wake up."

He did not respond.

"Artemis, come on, wake up!" Luna started to cry, _Please Goddess, please let him be alright! _"Artemis, I know that you can hear me! Wake up!"

"Here!" Mars shouted and carried over Luna's sword with Mercury. She grabbed it and swung at his chains. They broke free and he fell face down on the ground.

Luna turned his body over onto his back and felt his pulse. _He's still here, but why isn't he waking up?! _"Artemis, come on, please…" Luna flung herself on top of him, "Please… wake up." She looked at his pale face and saw her tears drip onto his cheeks, "It's not suppose to be like this… it's not.."

"Just give him time," Mars listened to his heartbeat, "He should be around soon."

"I'm sorry, Luna," Mercury apologized, "This is all my fault."

She looked up at Mercury and wiped away her tears, "No, you had no control over yourself." Luna looked at Mars, "How did you arrive?"

"I am the God of War," Mars answered proudly, "But also of courage and strength, and you flinging yourself on top of him was very brave."

"You could have died!" Mercury added.

'I don't go that easily," Luna laughed and turned her eyes towards Artemis again, "I wonder…" She remembered her father's spell and whispered, "Oh heart of gold, never weary or old…"

"What are you doing?" Artemis coughed and sat up. Luna was hovered over his chest and her hand was placed over his heart.

She moved it quickly, "You're alright!"

"Of course," He rubbed the back of his head and winced, "Geez, if you wanted to see me shirtless, all you have to do was ask." He teased and his teasing smirk turned into horror, "What happened…" His eyes widened, "What the hell happened to you?!"

"What?" Luna looked at her arms and found swollen bruises. They were the same on her legs and when she touched her face, her eyebrow was cut and her temples were enlarged. "Oh," She closed her eyes and focused her energy on healing her wounds.

Artemis reached out for her wrist and pulled her close to him. Luna opened her eyes and blushed, but she did not have the strength to pull away. "I'm sorry," He choked on his words, "So… sorry…"

_Oh Goddess… _Luna's throat tightened and she felt a tear on her shoulder. She closed her eyes again and concentrated hard on healing herself. _Why is this taking forever? Is it because of the witch?_

"I swear…" Artemis pulled away from her and stared into her eyes with icicles of his own, "She will never live to see the day of hurting you again."

Luna's body froze, _He's a bit frightening when he's serious. _Artemis kissed her forehead which gave a chill throughout her body. He did not let go that kiss for at least of minute, and when he did, her body was burning hot with magical energy. Her healing process sped up and her wounds her gone. _What was that about?_

He stood to his feet and teased, "Ready to face the witch?"

Luna smirked with a laugh, "Always."

"Oh yeah!" Mars fist pumped, "I am always ready for a battle!" He fluttered out the cracks of the bars and Mercury followed close behind him.

Luna drew her sword and cut the lock on the jail cell.

Artemis complimented her as he grabbed his bow, "You're pretty good with a sword."

"You haven't seen the beginning of it." Luna tossed him his quiver and arrows.

He caught them, "Better not let me down, princess."

"Don't plan on it," Luna loved a challenge. Artemis ran ahead of her up the stairwell that led to the witch.

** Written to "Start a Fire" by Ryan Star and "On My Own" by Ashes Remain**

**Author's Note: Hey guys, I apologize for the year hiatus, but I am back! I am going to update what I have of this story and finish it within the next week or so. I can't keep this one hanging, so I will finish it, but then I will move on. I do have another Harvest Moon like story started, but it is more realistic than fantasy. Anyway, thanks for sticking with me and onto the next chapter!**


	17. So it Begins

Chapter 17: So it Begins

Artemis and Luna sprinted up the stairs located on the far side of the witch's lair. They encountered weak guards that were no match to their strength. Together, they could accomplish tasks that one person would have difficulty in undergoing. Mars and Mercury flew ahead of them and assessed the battle ahead. They would call out how many guards and what obstacles were to come and how close they were to the top.

"Hey Luna!" Mars shouted, "The witch isn't up here!"

_What do you mean she's not?! _Luna gritted her teeth and slashed a guard's shoulder.

"It's just a empty room!" Mars replied, "There's a throne, but that's it!"

Artemis reached the top of the stairs first and kicked down the door that blocked their path to the room. Mars was right, the room was empty, just the throne.

"Something's not right." Luna huffed and tightened her grip around the handle of the sword.

Artemis nodded and carefully stepped forward without causing too much noise. Luna followed his path and felt Mercury's thoughts.

_She's here… _

_I can feel her too, _Luna felt the evil aura choking her, _But where is she?_

"Up top!" Mars shouted and Luna shot her head up towards the ceiling.

There was a gigantic tarantula crawling on top and once Luna caught sight of it, the spider dropped down.

"Watch out!" Luna shoved Artemis out of the way and then jumped backwards herself. The tarantula's land caused stone flooring to shatter like glass and sent stones flying across the room. Luna placed a weak shield over herself and she hoped that Artemis was smart enough to find cover.

"Now look what you have done," The witch floated perfectly onto the tarantula's back and tsked, "Now, I'm going to have to clean this mess up."

"Enough talk, witch." Luna lunged for her and the witch immediately attacked her with a powerful blast. Luna hit a wall and dropped to the floor, but she jumped to her feet and lunged for the witch again, to only be hit with the same blast.

"You're pathetic." Witch cackled and then snapped her finger, "I have an idea!" She jumped off of the spider, "I'll give you a free shot of magic." She winked, "You can either take it or keep doing your pathetic sword work."

Luna hesitated, _I know this is a trap, but… _She sheathed her sword and focused her energy, _I have to at least try. _Luna centered her focus on unleashing a powerful fire bolt at the witch. She thought about a memory of her father teaching her elemental spells.

* * *

"_Focus, Luna!" Gale would order her._

"_It's too hard daddy!" Luna would always whine with her eyes closed._

"_Nothing is too hard... nothing is impossible." He would correct his daughter._

"_But daddy…"_

"_Luna," He interrupted her, "Focus on what you love, who you love... focus on your feelings, your energy... and focus on what you want the most…_

* * *

"Peace." Luna whispered and held her hands up to the witch, palms open, "Be gone Witch!" She screamed and released the bolts of fire. Luna saw a smirk on the witch's face and she was engulfed by flames. Luna felt her energy leave her body and empty out into the spell. _That should've done it. _Luna lowered her spell and waited for the flames to dissipate. _Why do I feel a strong aura? _Luna began to worry and she called worth the winds to clear the flames. Her heart stopped.

"You." She choked out.

Artemis lowered his shield of water and had a frown on his face, "I'm sorry…"

Witch laughed loudly, "You didn't know!?" She leaned over and clenched her stomach because she was laughing so hard, "How could you not have known!? The signs were blatantly obvious!"

"You…" Luna could not even make out another word.

"I'm under her control!" Artemis defended his actions, "I have to follow her orders!"

"And he's mine," The witch wrapped her arms around his shoulders and placed her lips on his cheek.

Luna's anger boiled, "You people sicken me." She growled and unleashed a wild magic attack.

Artemis blocked the attacked and unleashed one of his own by pulling back his bow string and releasing it. Luna dodged the attack and carelessly lashed out several more attacks.

"That isn't going to work Luna!" Mars shouted into her ear, "You're going to have to break the string!"

"A little busy right now," Luna snapped and dodged another attack given by Artemis.

"Find the thread that connects her to him!" Mars flew above to avoid the battle.

Luna searched frantically and could not see any string around his neck or anywhere. Luna landed in towards the front of the hall by the door and took a breath, _Calm down, Luna. You know that this is no way to handle a situation like this._

"Had enough already, girl?" Witch smiled, "That was lame, we were just starting to have fun."

"Shut... up…" Artemis painfully snapped back at Witch.

_He's resisting… _Luna noticed, _Or at least he's trying to resist._

"Finish her." Witch ordered and snapped her finger again. There was a small flash in between her fingers and then Luna saw it.

_The string! It's around her finger! _Luna gasped and unsheathed her sword once again. _I can see it now! _Luna walked slowly towards Artemis.

"Get away from me." Artemis warned Luna, "Please, run!"

"No." Luna continued to walk closer, "Running doesn't solve anything."

"Please," Artemis raised his bow and begged, "I can't stop it!"

"Just shoot me, Artemis." Luna said his name as calmly as she could, "And that's an order."

"No," Artemis panicked as his fingers trembled, "Please, don't do this to me." He summoned an arrow and charged it with a water strike.

Luna smiled, "Aim towards the ground, Artemis," She charged up another attack, "And shoot at my feet."

He struggled to lower his bow and the witch snapped, "Don't you dare defy me, Artemis."

"Artemis," Luna smiled, "Just shoot, it'll be okay."

He closed his eyes, and released the arrow. The bow aimed for Luna's feet and she almost did not have enough time to avoid it. "Woah!" She jumped, "A bit close there!"

"Run!" He pulled back for a second shot and released quickly after.

This time Luna met the arrow with fire and the water strike turned to steam.

_Turn his arrows to ice and strike the witch! _Luna smiled and her genius plan and carefully watched Artemis's shots. She measured the timing before the his arrows turned to liquid water and she watched the witch's actions carefully. The witch smirked stupidly and tapped her finger on her stone that hung low on her neck. _Maybe I can kill two birds with one stone. _Luna threw another fiery blast at a water arrow and thought, _Come on… think colder… think ice. _

"Artemis!" Luna had an idea, "Insult me!"

"What?" Artemis shouted in fear as he struck another arrow.

"Just do it, Artemis!" Luna took advantage of what power she had over him.

"You're just a loud mouthed idiot!" Artemis struggled with an insult and shot another arrow.

Luna threw another blast of magic and once again, fire burned the water to steam, "Is that the best you got?!"

"You're a heartless, arrogant, cold-hearted killer!" He gritted his teeth through each word.

Luna easily dodged that arrow and felt her fiery aura burn hotter. _This isn't working... _

"Stop, Artemis." Witch commanded, "This is boring me."

Artemis lowered his arrow and nearly collapsed to the ground when Witch appeared beside him, "My dear…" Her dainty finger grazed his cheek and she cupped his cheek, "Let me provide you with my strength." Her eyes glared hard at Luna, "Because that witch obviously can't do anything." Her eyes returned to Artemis and she kissed him hard on the lips.

Luna's jaw dropped, "Are you kidding me?"

Witch pulled away, "Jealous, sweetheart?"

"Hardly…" Luna snorted, "Good luck with your relationship though because you aren't going to live as long as him."

Artemis grimaced in disgust and hatred, "Go to hell, Witch."

She gasped, "Darling! How could you say that to me?!" She laughed and revealed her thin string that was wrapped around his neck, "You're so mean to me, love!" Witch yanked on his string and choked him.

Artemis gasped and coughed as his hands struggled at the thread that turned into a strong, taut rope. Luna saw her chance, unsheathed her Goddess sword, and sprinted towards the witch. With strong overhand slash, Luna broke the chain that tied the Witch to Artemis. Artemis hacked out air and the bloody witch screeched like a banshee.

Luna lunged towards Artemis's side and hurried through a transportation spell, "With no haste, we leave this place!" With one sweeping motion, she threw her hand from above her head towards the ground and released the spell.

**Written to "Shot in the Dark" by Within Temptation**


	18. Fire and Ice

Chapter 18: Fire and Ice

Luna and Artemis appeared mid air and dropped to the forest floor. Artemis groaned underneath of Luna and she threw a hard punch to his jaw before she got to her feet.

"What was that for?" Artemis yelled.

"That's what you get for not telling me." Luna snapped and stormed away from him.

"Luna…" He called out for her and reached out for her wrist.

She pulled away, "Don't touch me!"

"Then listen to me," Artemis begged.

"You had your chance, Artemis," Luna looked away, "Now it's too late."

"Luna…" Artemis was cut off by Luna's open palm to his face. He was silent.

"Don't you dare speak my name, you coward." Luna teared up in anger. She felt like she wanted to hit him again and again and again, just to let out her anger.

"I thought I could trust you," She let out at last with a sigh, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was scared, Luna," She heard the pain in his voice, "I gave myself as a pawn, Luna, because I was scared."

"Why?" Luna shook her head confused,

"I was scared of what would become of the village after that girl was killed."

"That girl?" Luna shocked, "Matt's daughter?"

Without answering the known question, Artemis continued, "And I didn't tell you because I was terrified of what could happen to you."

"That gives you no right to hide that information from me." Luna turned her back to him and started to walk away.

"Luna!" He stopped her again and forced her to face him, "Luna, I love you."

"No," Luna felt a lump in her throat, "No, you don't." She pointed at the ground and controlled the vines beneath her feet. Luna commanded the earth below her feet to trap Artemis in a bind. Luna watched Artemis struggled, tugged, and pulled at the tight vines, but he could not get out, and that is what Luna wanted.

"Luna, please, don't do this…" Artemis begged.

She could see the distraught and tiredness in his face and his bewitching ocean blues. "If you really are a wizard," She swallowed her hurt, "Then those vines should be easy for you to break out of." Luna turned her back again and continued to walk in the opposite direction,

"You won't be able to find the last Harvest Sprite without me!" Artemis cried to her.

Luna chuckled to herself, "I can't believe him." She rolled her eyes and zipped up her own lips which caused a spell that zipped up Artemis's lips.

Artemis mumbled and grumbled as loud as he could and he pulled harder at the vines.

"Hey Luna," Mars showed up at Luna's side, "Don't you think you should free him?"

"Yeah Luna," Mercury added, "He's right, you know."

"About what?" Luna continued on her path back towards the village.

"You can't find the last Harvest Sprite without him." Mercury explained, "The last Harvest Sprite is Venus, the planet of love."

"Love is a two way street Mercury," Luna ducked under a limb, "And I don't love him."

"But you can't just leave him like that!" Mercury pulled on Luna's disheveled braid.

"Yes," Luna flicked Mercury away, "Yes, I can." She was tired of hearing the Harvest Sprites bicker so she transported herself back to the village.

**Written to "Secrets" by The Pierces, "On My Own" from Les Miserables**


	19. Perfect Storm

Chapter 19: Perfect Storm

Luna appeared at the entrance of the village with her head low and her demeanor even lower. Luna did not even realize the mob the stood angrily in front of her until Cam ran into her and cried for her. She ignored him and the mob surrounded her. They were enraged about something and Luna paid little to no attention to them.

"What did you do?!" Roy was the first, as always, to rant.

His wife followed, "That witch attacked us while you were away and all of the crops were destroyed!"

"She even destroyed the food and water source that you supplied us with yesterday." Heath said with distraught.

Vivian slapped Luna and screamed, "We should have killed you at the start!"

Luna held her hand to her cheek and rubbed the stinging spot and mumbled, "I should have never came." Her eyes filled with hate, "I should have let you all died." With her magic she forced Vivian backwards and she slammed into Van. Luna continued, "Is this what I get for coming here, a bunch of ungrateful people!"

"Luna," Matt soothed her, "Please forgive us. We're just a bit shaken."

"We're scared Luna," Angie added.

Luna breathed heavily and glanced all around her. The children hid behind Dakota who had the glare of a mother bear if Luna would have attacked them. Van comforted his wife and Michele and Roy formed tears. After seeing the pain in their eyes, Luna sighed and apologized to Vivian.

"Do you know when she'll attack again?" Vivian ignored her apology.

"No," Luna shook her head no and felt the weight on her shoulders grow heavy, "But if she does attack this village again, she'll be coming for me."

"What can we do to help?" Matt offered his support.

"Just prepare yourselves for a battle." Luna turned away from them and walked towards her farm.

As Luna walked slowly towards her farm, she was surrounded by five harvest sprites who all questioned her.

"What's going to happen Luna?" Neptune panicked.

Mars argued with Mercury on whether they were going to enter a battle, Saturn held Pluto who cried wildly, and Uranus pestered Luna with, "What did you do to Artemis!?"

Luna grimaced and squinted in pain, "You're all giving me a headache." She rubbed her temples and thought through the disturbances. _When is she going to strike next? _ Luna entered the barn and trudged up the ladder towards her cot. She tried to sleep, but she was too restless with the sprites around her.

"Can't you all just be quiet!?" She snapped and the sprites silenced. It was nightfall now, and Luna still had no answers of when the witch would strike next.

"I wish Artemis was here," Uranus sighed,

"You mean that dope that was with her?" Mars snorted, "She can do much better without him!"

"But he could help her!" Neptune jumped in.

"What could he do? Mercury asked.

Pluto entered, "I sense that my brother is near." His brows furrowed as he added uneasily, "And he is not happy."

Luna gaped, "He can talk?"

Uranus ignored her, "What do you mean, Pluto?"

"Can you not feel him, Neptune?" Pluto asked his other brother.

He closed his eyes and focused on the surrounding auras, "He's close by."

"Oh dear," Saturn bit his lower lips, "That's not good."

"What's wrong?" Luna asked confused.

"Jupiter does not like to be rudely awaken." Saturn shivered, "I hope that he'll be kind to us."

"He's going to unleash a storm," Luna figured it out and laughed, "Ha! If he thinks I'm going to be weakened by a little bit of water then he has another thing coming towards her!"

"Luna, this could be very bad." Uranus explained, "Jupiter could unleash a hundred year storm."

"Uranus," Luna stood where loft doors once were in her barn, "Leave me."

"But what…?!" Uranus was cut off by a stern glare from Luna, he continued, "Come on everyone, let's leave Luna alone."

"What!?" Mars interjected, "What about our battle plan! What are we going to do!?"

Mercury understood that Luna was not kidding and that she wanted them to leave, "Come on Mars we can come up with our own plan." He ushered Mars towards the bottom level of the barn. Saturn took Pluto and Uranus followed close behind.

Before Neptune left, he reassured, "Whatever Artemis did to you, please forgive him, he's not a bad guy."

"It's okay Neptune," Luna gave a small smile, "I just want to think alone."

Neptune nodded and gave a quick hug to Luna before he fluttered off with the other Harvest Sprites. Luna was finally left alone to think of what that witch was going to do and when she was going to do it. Luna did not even want to think about Artemis, but the itching thought always came back to her. The rawness in his voice and the passion in his eye verified his words from earlier, but she did not want to believe him. She could not believe him.

"I've only been here for about a month or so," Luna slid down along the wooden beams and sat on the cold floor, "How could he even say such a thing?" Luna was beside herself and every thought reverted back to him. _I hate him… _Luna teared up and laid her head on her knees, _How could he say such a thing to me?_

A soft _thump_ landed on the floor. The figure that landed never approached her, but said coldly, "You know exactly when she's going to attack."

"I see that you got out just fine." Luna snorted and did not even look at him.

Artemis leaned on the opposite beam, "You thought that weak spell could keep me away?"

Luna did not even have the energy to speak anymore, her heart was shattering into two, so she thought to him, _I wish._

Artemis jumped, "What was that?"

_What? _Luna closed her eyes.

"Are you doing that?" Artemis looked at her with wide eyes.

Luna shot her head up at him and continued, _You mean that you don't know how to do this?_

"Should I know?" Artemis asked suspiciously.

Luna nodded and sighed, "Just focus your thoughts into a form of energy." She said her next words quietly, _And emit them towards me._

He closed his eyes and thought hard, but his thoughts were unable to be sent into Luna's mind. "Maybe, I'm not strong enough." He shrugged.

"You have a marking?" Luna explained, "A mark that signifies your power?"

He understood and knew exactly what Luna was explaining, and Artemis pulled back his collar of his tunic, "It's a silver arrow."

Luna saw the lonesome arrow and her assumption was confirmed, "You're only half. You still have much more to learn." She sat up and turned her head towards the hillside, "The witch is going to reconnect her bond with you tomorrow, and when she does, she will most likely force you to fight me. If the witch puts you up against me tomorrow; fight, and show me everything you've got."

"I might be half," Artemis approached her, "But do not underestimate my strength." He grabbed her arm and faced Luna towards him, "If that thread is reconnected, run."

Luna snorted, "I've been waiting for this fight since the first day I've met you!" There was a loud rumble forming in the horizon. She poked Artemis hard with each word, "I will fight you." The wind howled and the rain began to fall. Luna's hair dampened as she took a step back towards the edge.

"What are you doing?" Artemis concerned and watched for every step.

"I'm the one who should not be underestimated, Artemis." Luna smirked and walked off the edge, but instead of falling, she floated, "She might have her magical stone, but I'm a dark horse, and I will hold nothing back against her," Luna concurred a spell to make her disappear and when she started to faint away, Luna's final words to Artemis were, "or you."

**Written to "Dark Horse" by Katy Perry**


	20. The Final Blow

Chapter 20: The Final Blow

Luna woke up to the pounding sound of rain on the tin roof of the farmhouse and without a moment to spare she jumped down to the hard cold ground. The six harvest sprites surrounded her and together they exited the farmhouse. The wind whipped through the trees and the sky was pitch black. Luna knew that she needed to find Jupiter and calm him down before she could even think about worrying about the witch.

"Jupiter!" Neptune shouted and everyone followed suit with their own names for Jupiter.

All of the sprites split off in different directions and frantically searched for their fallen brother. Luna walked alone along the beaten path and tried to focus on finding Jupiter, but her thoughts were muddled with the witch and the battle.

"Child..." A faint voice called out to her, "Please, help me child..."

Luna barely heard the noise but she did she a small flicker of white in the brush. Quickly, she walked to find a small old little sprite. "He's over here sprites!" Luna called out to all of the sprites and carefully lifted the small body.

The sprites assembled and hovered over Jupiter's body.

"Nice to see you Jupiter." Pluto greeted his brother.

"You as well, Pluto, Neptune." He shook his head to the other sprites. They all nodded in response.

"There's an unnatural storm brewing in the west." Jupiter coughed, "It's not my doing."

Luna understood what that storm was and asked, "Jupiter, can you do me a favor?"

"Let him rest Luna!" Uranus argued against her request.

"Let her speak." Jupiter hushed him.

"Can you create one last storm? Like the one you created last night."

"Over this village?" Jupiter assured the this village was the appropriate location.

"Yes." Luna nodded.

"But Luna!" Neptune interrupted, "The storm will put out your flames!"

Mercury chimed in, "You can't use magic against her."

Mars fist pumped, "YEAH! Brute force is the only way of killing her!"

"But..." Neptune worried.

Uranus stopped him, "It's okay. She knows what she's doing."

Luna smiled at Uranus and then handed Jupiter over to Uranus, "Head towards the Goddess Springs, I will meet you there after this battle."

Uranus nodded and then ushered the sprites away from Luna and then they created a spell to return to the Springs.

On cue, the storm begun. Luna looked up to the sky and felt the raindrops drip onto her face. She sighed and felt her mind clear. Luna slowly walked into town and while she was walking she summoned her sword. Her sword appeared in her hands and she felt the power of the Goddess ore surging through the core.

"Luna!" Cam ran up to her once she reached the town center. Without stopping he slammed into her and hugged her waist.

Luna leaned over and returned the hug, "You should be with your parents."

"But I want to help you fight." Cam refused to move.

"What a touching scene." An annoyed voice pierced a dagger through the precious moment.

Luna glared up at her while whispering to Cam, "Go home."

"No, stay." Witch smiled widely and wrapped a thick magical rope around his waist and pulled Cam out of Luna's grasp.

"Ahhh!" Cam screamed.

"Cam!" Angie shrieked and ran out of her house.

"Stay away!" Luna used a magical force to shove her back away from the fight.

"Hmmm..." Witch tapped her chin with her delicate finger, "What should I do to you?"

"Nothing." Luna threw her hand, palm facing out towards Cam, and created a shield around him.

"Oh darn..." Witch tsked and gave a false whine, "Whatever shall I do?" She turned towards the woods and yanked on another rope, "I guess I'll have to play with this one for a little while."

Luna turned her head towards the woods and gaped, "No."

Artemis was once in the grasp of the witch.

"Didn't I tell you to stay away from her!?" Luna shouted at him angrily.

The grip around him tightened and he laughed weakly, "Ha. I couldn't stand the thought of you beating her before I could even get a chance to take her down." A jolt of electricity shot through the rope and he screamed in agony.

Luna's heart throbbed, _Damn that must hurt like hell._

_"_You have a choice," The Witch began, "Save this child or save your lover."

"Pff..." Luna laughed, "He's not my lover, and I'd choice the child over him at any moment." She shot another shield out towards Artemis, "But lucky for him, I choose to save both."

"Well," There was a crash of thunder and the winds howled with each step that the Witch took closer to Luna, "I guess that leads you wide open." Once she was close to Luna, the Witch punched her hand through Luna's gut.

Luna howled with agonizing pain and when the Witch removed her hand, she fell to the ground. Her magic wavered slightly, but it wasn't enough to release the shield.

"Luna!" Cam and Artemis screamed. Artemis continued, "Let me go! I'll be fine!"

Luna shook her head no and could not lift herself off the ground.

The Witch pulled Luna's hair back and looked her straight in the eye. Luna's eyes were in flames and the shield colored turned from blue to a bright fiery red. The rain sizzled with each drop onto the flames.

"You're weak compared to me." Witch spit in her face and then lowered her hand to Luna's neck. "Let's just cut this little pretty throat of your's."

"Over... my dead body." A voice appeared from behind Luna and with one swift motion, the figure grabbed Luna's sword for its hilt and stabbed it through the Witch's black jewel and through her throat.

A terrifying howl shrieked through the land as the Witch fell to the ground and slowly disintegrated away into nothing.

Luna dropped her arms and released the shield. She fell face first to the ground.

"Stay with me Luna..." She felt warm hands cradle her body and a cool breathe on her forehead, "You're not done yet..."

"Dad..." Luna gasped and smirked weakly, "A... little late... aren't you?"

"I came as soon... as I felt the storm..." Gale kissed her forehead and she felt a short burst of energy surge through her body. Her lower body began to reform and mold back into one piece. "The storm... was not natural... it was... disturbing my aura."

"Luna!" Artemis ran over to her, but was immediately pushed back by Gale.

"Dad." Luna laughed as he was slammed into a house, "Leave him to me. He's my problem."

"If you insist..." Gale nodded and looked at his daughter, "Your mother... is worried about you..."

"I missed you too dad." Luna shifted herself up once her body was healed.

"Luna!" Cam ran over to her and hugged her tightly, "I'm sorry!" He sobbed.

Luna pat his back softly, "It's okay, Cam. I'm okay."

"I thought..." Cam continued to sob. Luna felt something warm coming out of his chest. Cam felt it as well and backed away from Luna. There was a small yellwo blob emerging out of him.

"Hello!" It was the only female sprite, Venus. "My name is Venus! I am the goddess of love!"

"That was inside of me?" Cam asked in shock and Luna could see his semi-dried tears along his cheeks. He was adorable and Luna was thankful to have met him while she was on this island.

"Hey dad," She looked at her father, "Can you take this sprite to the Goddess Springs? She'll lead the way."

"Of course..." Gale nodded and created a portal for the sprite to lead him through to the Goddess Springs.

"Does that mean you're leaving now?" Cam's tears began again.

"My job's here is done." Luna rubbed his shoulder, "And I made a promise to return home, to my family."

"Cam!" Angie ran out of the house once again with Matt behind her.

Cam did not let go of her and Luna smiled, "It'll be okay, Cam." Cam gave her one last big hug, before turning to his parents and meeting them halfway to give them a tight hug.

Luna got up and walked over to where Artemis landed against the side of the house. She kicked him, "Get up."

"Have you ever been shoved by a magic pulse?" Artemis rubbed the back of his head.

"Yes," Luna rolled her eyes, "Now get up."

He stood up, "Have you come to kiss me good-bye?" He winked and smirked at her.

"I've come to offer you a second chance." Luna crossed her arms and ignored his remark, "Come with me back to Castanet and studied under my father long enough to become a full wizard."

"And then what?" Artemis asked.

Luna waved her hand, "I don't care. Come back here or stay there, that's up to you."

Artemis pulled her waist in towards him and closed any gap that was between them with a kiss.

Luna shoved him away, "What the hell was that for!?"

"A thank you." His smirk was supposed to be charming, but Luna was starting to get annoyed by him.

"A verbal thanks would have been just fine." Luna blew a flame against the upper part of his trousers and she laughed as he frantically put out the flame.

"You little...!" Artemis was shut up with another zipper spell.

Luna began to cast a spell for the Goddess Springs so that she could meet up with Gale and then return home. "Coming?" Luna directed that question to Artemis and then walked through the portal. He followed her and then closed it behind them.

Once they reached the Goddess Springs, Gale had returned the Goddess back to normal and the sprites were cheering merrily.

"The feeling..." Gale started, "The prophecy... is completed..."

Luna hugged her dad, "You have a lot of explaining to do when we get home."

Gale noticed Artemis, "We're bringing... him along as well?"

"He's going to complete his training." Luna answered why Artemis was with her and then Gale asked no further questions about his presence.

"Well then..." Gale rubbed his chin, "Where do I begin...? Well, it started... with a girl... and a Harvest Sprite..."

* * *

**Author's Note: Finished! Now some of you may be asking, why did it take so long to complete? Well, stay tuned for my final author's note and playlist!**


	21. Author's Note

**Hey everyone!**

**So, why did it take so long for "Saving Moonlight" to complete? Well, it was not just school and trying to finish up my last year of college, but also, I had a huge life experience change last year. As I mentioned in the author note prior to finishing this story, I had lost my muse for writing. It was hard to face the fact the I had no motivation to write or even the thought of finishing this story originally. I had all of the plans for the story, but there was one thing I could not decide, and that was whether Luna would have a significant other.**

**I know that in the middle of the story, my intention was for Luna to have a relationship with Artemis, but towards the end, I realized that Luna having a relationship was not her character. Her character was an independent, smart, fun, spirited woman, but just because she was like that, doesn't mean that she HAD to have a partner.**

**Also, when I did start writing again, I didn't feel like touching this story anymore because I didn't want to finish it. It was something that I started when I had my muse and I thought that completing it without my muse would be too weird. But, I did it, and it felt awesome.**

**The most important part of this author's note, like always is the playlist, so without further ado, the playlist.**

**"Locked out of Heaven" - Bruno Mars**

**"Alone" - Armin Van Buuren ft. Leaurn Evans**

**"Memories" - EarlyRise**

**"Burn" - Ellie Goulding**

**"Danza Kuduro" - Don Omar and Lucenzo**

**"Marching On" - One Republic**

**"Bitch" - Meredith Brooks**

**"Chandelier" - by Sia**

**"Vuelie (feat. Cantus)" - Christophe Beck and Frode Fjellheim**

**"Storm of Light" - Neo Cortex**

**"Shoots and Ladder" - KoRn**

**"Start a Fire" - Ryan Star**

**"On My Own" - Ashes Remain**

**"Shot in the Dark" - Within Temptation**

**"Secrets" - The Pierces**

**"On My Own" - from Les Miserables**

**"Dark Horse" - Katy Perry**

**And that's the list! Again, thank you all for your support! And especially, thank you ScipioPB for being my co-author, I could not have done this without you!**

**God bless!**

**~Bella Mattina~**


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